In recent times, fielding a Formula One racer has become a horribly complicated and financially draining venture. Advanced carbon fiber chassis, intricate hybrid power trains and space age aerodynamics have caused the build of a modern F1 car to be reserved for the super rich, the corporate, and the royally sponsored.

The hybrid era has pushed the cars and budgets into science fiction. The hybrid era has pushed the cars and budgets into science fiction.

But it wasn't always that way. The late 1960s marked the rise of the "kit car" era. With the release of the affordable, powerful and easily packaged Cosworth DFV V8 to the market in 1968, F1 became a hunting ground for wide-eyed privateers.

All they had to do was lease a batch of DFV's, find a supply of Hewland FG400 5-speed gearboxes, and connect the myriad of other ready-made parts, like brakes, wheels and suspension together with a sheet aluminium or tube frame chassis.

Thanks to the proven nature of all these components, any team willing to fork over the cash would be ensured of an acceptably competitive car, at least in theory. Just a few short years later, this formula was already in use by DeTomaso, Brabham, Surtees, McLaren, Bellasi, Lotus and March.

March was one of the first to properly commercialize Formula One. March was one of the first to properly commercialize Formula One.

Most of these outfits wasted no time and immediately set up a costumer program, turning the sport from a manufacturer's playground into a veritable industry. March in particular became a prolific third party supplier, supplying six teams along with their factory squad in 1971, just a year after their F1 debut.

Jackie Stewart in his Tyrrell Racing March 701, 1970. Jackie Stewart in his Tyrrell Racing March 701, 1970.

For 1972, March secured yet another costumer. A German gentleman by the name of Gunther Hennerici placed an order for the new 721 chassis, which he planned to modify to his liking. Hennerici had made his fortune by founding the Eifelland Caravan company, named after the Eifel mountains where he was born.

The region was also the home of the world-famous Nurburgring circuit, which almost inevitably drew him to the world of motorsport. Gunther became a prominent figure at the track and his twin brother Heinz was an accomplished racer before losing his arm in the Second World War. While working around the Nurburgring, Hennerici witnessed the dominance of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union in early Grand Prix racing.

Rolf Stommelen in Eifelland's Brabham BT30 Formula 2, Nurburgring 1970. Rolf Stommelen in Eifelland's Brabham BT30 Formula 2, Nurburgring 1970.

Though Mercedes made a successful return for two seasons starting in 1954, Germany was never represented strongly in the pinnacle of motorsport. Gunther Hennerici wished to bring racing glory back to his country, and founded Team Eifelland Caravans in the late 1960s.

In 1970, he purchased a March 702 Formula Two car, and entered the European Formula Two Championship with Porsche and Alfa Romeo factory sportscar driver Rolf Stommelen. Though Eifelland would eventually switch to a Brabham BT30, the link with March was re-established at the end of 1971.

The March 721. The March 721.

After taking delivery of 721 chassis number four, Gunther Hennerici handed it over to accomplished German automotive designer and aerodynamicist Luigi Colani. After stints at Alfa Romeo, BMW, Fiat, Volkswagen and Lancia, Colani had based his work around a style he called "biodynamic".

Colani's all-fiberglass 1963 BMW 700 sportscar concept was a prime example of his style. Colani's all-fiberglass 1963 BMW 700 sportscar concept was a prime example of his style.

Instead of using hard edges, sharp angles and other strictly mechanical principles, he modeled his designs on the rounded, smooth forms present in the natural world. He believed this mantra resulted in not only more aesthetically pleasing objects, but also superior ergonomics.

"The earth is round, all the heavenly bodies are round; they all move on round or elliptical orbits. We are even aroused by round forms in species propagation related eroticism. Why should I join the straying mass who want to make everything angular?" Luigi Colani

Unsurprisingly, Colani's treatment of a Formula One car was entirely unconventional. Even in an era where downforce and aerodynamics were very much still uncharted territory, the Typ 21 looked like nothing else in use at the time.

A bemused Rolf Stommelen trying the 21 on for size. A bemused Rolf Stommelen trying the 21 on for size.

The unusual car clearly displayed Luigi Colani's design philosophy, featuring a gigantic rounded nosecone incorporating brake ducts, a lowline single plane wedge-shaped rear wing and a striking cowling around the cockpit. The cowling was Colani's alternative to the large periscope airboxes which were starting to become popular in the sport.

Luigi Colani wanted to avoid using an airbox mounted up high. Luigi Colani wanted to avoid using an airbox mounted up high.

He felt the periscopes caused too much drag, completely negating the extra power gained from the ram air effect. Instead, his design sported two holes on either side of the driver's head combined with a large snorkel placed directly in front of the driver. Along with the enormous 2.5 square meter rear wing, the cowling covered the engine almost completely.

This was an unusual decision, as at least part of the Cosworth engine was visible in all other designs of the period, mainly to aid cooling the cylinder heads. In spite of this, Luigi Colani wanted the car to be as aerodynamically efficient as possible, and was willing to compromise in other areas to achieve that goal.

His obsession even reached to the location of the rear view mirrors, which he viewed as aerodynamic clutter. In order to clean up the car even further, he mounted a single mirror on a sculpted, streamlined support directly in the driver's line of sight.

Placed high up, it allowed the driver to see over the huge rear wing right behind him. The mirror was initially white, and decorated with the colors of the German flag, but this caused harmful reflections for the driver. A can of black paint easily solved this problem.

As the Typ 21 was released to the German press, Luigi Colani was eager to point out the car's radical differences to established designs, even going as far as saying the other cars had nothing to do with true aerodynamics. His enthusiasm was met with an appropriate response, as the unsightly car quickly became known as "The Whale".

Preliminary aerodynamic tests showed Colani to be mostly right, but his concept completely fell apart as soon as the car took to the track. Rolf Stommelen found the 21 didn't produce anything even near the amount the eccentric designer had promised, and struggled to keep the densely packed engine cool.

The hastily modified 21, Brands Hatch 1972. The hastily modified 21, Brands Hatch 1972.

The design's drastic failure sent the team into a bit of a panic. The large nose was promptly cut down to a more manageable size, and the giant wedge was abandoned in favor of dual plane rear wing ordered directly from March. Luigi Colani was not amused with Gunther Hennerici's quick damage control, causing him to cut ties with Team Eifelland Caravans.

With the gung-ho modifications still in place, the car was entered into the 1972 Race of Champions, a non-championship event held at Brands Hatch. In a mixed field of 19 F1 nd F5000 cars, Rolf Stommelen qualified the car a respectable 13th. In the process, he had set a time just 2.3 seconds behind Emerson Fittipaldi's superior Lotus 72.

However, he was slower than both Mike Beuttler (GB) and Ronnie Peterson (SWE), who were using the March 721 the Eifelland was based on. The race produced similar results, as Stommelen was classified 11th, one lap down on the victorious Fittipaldi.

Hennerici ordered a tea-tray for use at Kyalami. Hennerici ordered a tea-tray for use at Kyalami.

Following the ordeal at Brands, the cut up nosecone was finally replaced with another item out of the March parts bin. A surplus "tea-tray" front wing carried over from 1971's March 711 was fitted, making the car seem increasingly redundant compared to its donor. All that remained from the initial sci-fi design was the eccentric engine cowling, and the unique centrally mounted mirror.

In this form, the Eifelland appeared for the second round of the 1972 season at Kyalami, South Africa. Performance hadn't improved by much, as Rolf Stommelen was unable to do better than 25th out of 27 starters in qualifying.

Tellingly, he placed behind every single March entered for the event, including numerous older 711's. The Eifelland was some 1.5 seconds slower than Niki Lauda's car, who had qualified 21st. Ronnie Peterson was even higher up in 9th. Unsurprisingly, he finished 13th, 2 laps down on winner Denny Hulme (NZ) in his McLaren.

Further alterations and a new paint scheme were seen at Jarama. Further alterations and a new paint scheme were seen at Jarama.

Eifelland arrived at Jarama with another host of modifications, hoping to make the car competitive for the Spanish Grand Prix. A supply of development parts from March had become available, as the British squad has done away with the tea tray after the first round of the season in Argentina.

The Eifelland adopted elements from the updated March 721. The Eifelland adopted elements from the updated March 721.

As such, the Typ 21 received the new, ridged, square nosecone with two winglets on either side, and a more sculpted, single plane rear wing. Along with the factory upgrades, Eifelland had fitted the car's radiators with cowlings, hoping to improve cooling even further by directly forcing air through them. The mechanical changes were supplanted with a different color scheme, with a vibrant blue covering most of the bodywork.

The alterations seemed to have had the desired effect, as Rolf Stommelen dragged the car up to 17th place on the grid. For the first time, the Eifelland could actually stand up to its donor, as Stommelen had beaten out every 721 except for those of Ronnie Peterson (9th) and Carlos Pace (16th). Sadly he was unable to make use of the new found pace, as he crashed out on lap 15.

Stommelen in the rain, 1972 Monaco Grand Prix. Stommelen in the rain, 1972 Monaco Grand Prix.

The famous street circuit of Monaco was a lot less kind to Eifelland, as Rolf Stommelen found himself back down in 25th again. However, torrential rain upset the established order dramatically, allowing the sly German to creep up the field using his extensive endurance racing experience. In the end, he placed 10th, three laps down on Jean-Pierre Beltoise's BRM.

Next up on the calendar was the Belgian Grand Prix, held for the first time at Nivelles-Baulers, near Brussels. The 3.72 kilometer (2.314 mile) track had been designed to provide a safer alternative to the 14-kilometer high-speed madness of Spa Francorchamps, which had been deemed too dangerous for 1971.

Circuit Nivelles-Baulers, currently an industrial estate. Circuit Nivelles-Baulers, currently an industrial estate.

The result was a very flat, boring track which required virtually no skill to navigate.Aside from being unpopular with drivers, it angered spectators as well, since the vast expanses of run-off made them feel removed them from the action.

Rolf Stommelen chasing the smoking Tecno PA123 of Nanni Galli, Nivelles-Baulers 1972. Rolf Stommelen chasing the smoking Tecno PA123 of Nanni Galli, Nivelles-Baulers 1972.

Eifelland was unable to make progress at the hyper safe venue however, as Rolf Stommelen placed 20th in qualifying. On race day he had an experience similar to the one at Monaco, as he took advantage of a high rate of attrition to take 11th, three laps down on Emerson Fittipaldi.

Rolf Stommelen racing along the intense Charade circuit, Clermont-Ferrand 1972. Rolf Stommelen racing along the intense Charade circuit, Clermont-Ferrand 1972.

After the bore of Nivelles-Baulers, the F1 circus moved to the picturesque mountain road course at Clermont-Ferrand. Circuit de Charade was renowned for its intense nature, but feared for its location. The circuit was situated around the base of a volcano, which would often result in sharp volcanic rocks finding their way onto the track.

Surviving the obvious risk of punctures, Stommelen improved to 15th place on the grid. The race was marred by the career-ending injury suffered by BRM driver Dr. Helmut Marko, who lost his left eye after one of the dreaded volcanic stones was propelled through his visor by Emerson Fittipaldi's Lotus.

Rolf Stommelen suffered a puncture early in the race and was forced to come in for a replacement, but his road racing experience came in handy to stage a recovery. Despite the stop he finished 16th, a lap down on Jackie Stewart's winning Tyrrell.

Rolf Stommelen holding up the March 72G of Niki Lauda and the Lotus 72D of Dave Charlton (SA), Brands Hatch 1972. Rolf Stommelen holding up the March 72G of Niki Lauda and the Lotus 72D of Dave Charlton (SA), Brands Hatch 1972.

Back at Brands Hatch, the 21 fell right back down the order again. Starting from 25th place, Rolf Stommelen was once again rewarded for his patience, mechanical sympathy and consistency, as he managed to survive an unusually high number of retirements. Consequently, he took the checkered flag in 10th, 5 laps down on Emerson Fittipaldi.

Stommelen waving through the Matra MS120C of Chris Amon, Brands Hatch 1972. Stommelen waving through the Matra MS120C of Chris Amon, Brands Hatch 1972.

Six difficult races into the seasons, Eifelland was finally back home, as it was time for the German Grand Prix held at the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife. At a track he and the team knew very well, Rolf Stommelen was able to elevate the Typ 21 into the top 20 once again.

The Eifelland negotiating Flugplatz, Nurburgring 1972. The Eifelland negotiating Flugplatz, Nurburgring 1972.

Though the 15th place in qualifying was certainly encouraging, the team's home race would end in tears. After just six laps, Stommelen slowed with electrical issues, taking him out of the event.

The retirement laid bare the developing financial problems within Gunther Hennerici's organization, as the strain of ferrying a lackluster racecar around Europe had begun to take its toll.

With funds virtually non-existent, the car still appeared at the Austrian Grand Prix, though this time it would run under the Team Stommelen banner, a clear attempt from the German to secure his drive. In the background, Gunther Hennerici sold his caravan business, and started losing interest in motorsport in general.

Team Stommelen Eifelland Typ 21, Zeltweg 1972. Team Stommelen Eifelland Typ 21, Zeltweg 1972.

Unfortunately for Rolf, the undulating Osterreichring near Zeltweg wasn't too kind to either him or the car. Starting from 17th place, Rolf Stommelen was eventually classified as 15th, even though he had suffered an engine failure.

After yet another dismal showing, the team finally folded, and the Eifelland name disappeared from the grid three races before the end of the season. The remains of the team were bought by Brabham team owner Bernie Ecclestone, mainly to scavenge it for surplus Cosworth DFV engines.

John Watson racing the 21 in at Phoenix Park, Dublin. John Watson racing the 21 in at Phoenix Park, Dublin.

The car itself was then sold off to London-based Irish car salesman Tony "Monkey" Brown, who entered it into a Formula Libre raced held at Phoenix Park in his native Dublin. There the Eifelland would be piloted by a young John Watson.

Predictably, the Typ 21 lasted only 14 laps, but it did allow Watson to show his budding talent. In his short time with the car, he set a new average speed record of 101 miles per hour (160 kph).

"Monkey asked me to drive it at Phoenix Park, just as it stood, with the weird bodywork and that central mirror on a big prong in front of the cockpit.” John Watson

The modified Typ 21 at Brands Hatch, 1972. The modified Typ 21 at Brands Hatch, 1972.

"I thought that was the last of it, but then Monkey dealt the car on to Paul Michaels, who ran Hexagon of Highgate. Paul’s friend John Goldie put some money in, and they entered it, with normal mirrors now, for the October Brands Hatch F1 race. I finished sixth behind the BRMs of Vern Schuppan and Peter Gethin, and ahead of Ronnie Peterson’s March and Mike Hailwood’s Surtees." JOhn Watson

The car in Hexagon-spec, 2011 Silverstone Classic. The car in Hexagon-spec, 2011 Silverstone Classic.

After the outing at the 1972 John Player Challenge Trophy with Goldie Hexagon Racing and John Watson, where it was entered as a March 721, the car was finally retired for good as the team switched to Brabham products.

Apparently the car was sold off to America immediately after its time with Hexagon, but it eventually found its way back to Europe. Immediately upon returning, the car became part of the burgeoning classic Formula One racing scene. It made a number of appearances at a number of high profile vintage racing events in the hands of owner driver Rudolf Ernst, still in Hexagon-spec.

The Typ 21 replica. The Typ 21 replica.

Just as the car resurfaced, an imposter fashioned from a crashed March 711 appeared. The builder remained adamant it was the real deal. The car was displayed at the 2011 AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix, but soon fell out of favor when the original 721-4 chassis was slated for restoration in 2016.

David Shaw on the grid at Monaco, 2018. David Shaw on the grid at Monaco, 2018.

The car was given to British vintage F1 specialists ZUL-Racing, who meticulously restored it to the strange spec it had at the end of the 1972 season, complete with the original color scheme. Driven by British enthusiast David Shaw, the car showed up for the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix Historique. It remains a popular attraction to this day.