"Zakspeed", a single word that makes the hearts of many motorsport fanatics beat faster, "Zakspeed"! Synonymous with innovation in motorsport, ambition, courage, brand diversity, challengers, podium contenders, European champions, and sooner or later images of the legendary Ford Capri Turbo will pop into your head... the associations that the word "Zakspeed" conjures up would be enough to get you to open the book straight away, were it not for the three Capri Turbos on the cover, which delay opening the book for a few seconds.
The book in your hand - love at first sight
As soon as you hold the book in your hands, you know: there is a lot of information inside, lots of photos and probably an almost complete documentation of the history of Zakspeed.
The layout of the book is pleasing at first glance, clear and concise, no playful graphic elements. The often large photos are impressively presented on the high-quality, matt paper. The size is pleasing (slightly larger than A4), the thickness immediately entices you to leaf through it, you would like to see all the vehicles at the same time... but one at a time.
History and vehicles
The first 300 pages of this book are primarily devoted to the motorsport history of the Zakspeed team, its highs and lows. The author takes the reader back to 1945, when the Zakowski family had its roots and had to flee from there during the Second World War. The reader is guided through Zakowski's life in detail, via GT and formula racing, right up to the very last races in 2014.
The second large part of the book is dedicated almost completely to all the Zakspeed racing cars that have been built in Niederzissen over the decades. From the Ford Escort to the Capris, via Formula 1 and the German manufacturers BMW, Mercedes, Opel and Porsche, over 30 Zakspeed cars are presented in detail. Here, too, the range spans a large period of time, from the Ford Escort 1300 GT from 1969 via the Dodge Viper from 1999 to the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 from 2014. It is important to mention that, in addition to technical data, a lot of background information is also summarized for each vehicle. This gives you a completely different view of Zakspeed's history than in the chronological section above.
Behind all these vehicles, however, there were also countless people who brought these vehicles to life, and therefore it will always be about these people, who rarely shied away from challenges and were responsible for the success and failure of Zakspeed: Erich and Peter Zakowski, many well-known drivers who raced for Zakspeed over the years, and not forgetting the mechanics who "wrenched" for Zakspeed over the years and often contributed valuable building blocks to its success with just small ideas.
Profundity
In addition to researching the literature, the many interviews that author Christian Reinsch conducted with touring car legends Hans Heyer, Klaus Ludwig and Kurt Thiim, engine engineer Norbert Kreyer and Bruno Bunk, one of the central mechanics at Zakspeed, and of course with Erich and Peter Zakowski themselves, formed an important basis for this book.
As the author was granted direct access to the official Zakspeed archives, the book is particularly in-depth: A vast amount of documents, old newspaper articles and photos had to be analyzed. The task of completing the book was almost impossible, as more and more important information was found in the archive, and photos and anecdotes that had never been published before kept turning up that had to be taken into account. Despite the almost impossible task of including everything in the book, the intensive and impressive research work resulted in an almost complete documentation of Zakspeed, which is supplemented with wonderful photographic material.
Statistics - short and sweet
30 pages chronologically show every Zakspeed race from 1969 to 2014, listing the event, start number, driver and car as well as the position.
A book for a large fan base
There is hardly a manufacturer or racing series that has not been served by Zakspeed over the years. This and the fact that numerous races have been held around the world with an almost unbelievable number of racing drivers, gives the book an incredibly broad spectrum and should therefore be of interest to many readers. The variety of vehicles spread across different racing series is fascinating to read again and again and it is exciting to see how Zakspeed pulled the strings at the center of this alternating history and always pushed forward innovatively.
In short, the book is a feast for the eyes and, thanks to its solid presentation, sparks memories of the great racing times. The price of 79€ is certainly in the higher book price segment, but in return you get a lovingly prepared, concentrated load of Zakspeed information that you haven't been able to read or see anywhere else.
Bibliography
- Buy the book from Amazon or directly from the publisher at www.motorsport-books.de
- Author: Christian Reinsch
- 560 pages, approx. 500 pictures, 240 x 300 mm, hardcover
- Languages: German
- Price: 79,00 €
- Publisher: VIEW GmbH
- ISBN-13: 978-3-945397-02-2
- ISBN-10: 3945397022
