Zakspeed was already an established racing and tuning company, working in conjunction with Ford. The team decided to enter Formula One in with their own turbo-charged engine; the factory-backed Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Renault teams were the only other outfits to build both their chassis and engines at this time. It was the first all-German (engine and chassis) F1 car since the Porsche 804 in . The small size of the team limited it to building just two chassis during the course of the season, which also meant that only one car would be entered for contested events. For financial reasons, the team would not travel out of Europe, limiting itself to a maximum of eleven out of the sixteen Grands Prix. The 841 was designed by Paul Brown, with the 4-in-line engine designed by Norbert Kreyer. Two chassis were built, with the second only being finished in time for the French Grand Prix, the seventh round of the championship. The finished package was generally agreed to be neat and tidy (if conventional), especially in the red-and-white corporate colours of West, the team's title sponsor.