Ammerschlager came up with the initial aerodynamic concept and created most of the original drawings, He also produced 1/5th scale models that were tested in the wind tunnel facility at Aachen University.

The initial phase of construction began with the building of the 40mm tubular aluminium roll cage at Zakspeed's Niederzissen base. Zakowski acheived much of this himself, along with Zakspeed Chief Mechanic Helmut Barth, by physically fabricating a model of the tubular framework to fit inside the Capri's upper body, building as much strength and rigidity into the structure as the shape allowed. The total weight of the tubular structure was just 70 kg.

A sheet aluminium floor panel was added and glued to the bodywork mimicking the concept used in in Formula 1 at the time. The result was a rigid and stable chassis for the new race car.

Cost considerations were put to one side and the rest of the body panel work was made from high-strength/low-weight Du Pont "Kevlar 49" - as opposed to the more common GFRP (glass fibre reinfcred plastic) materials in use at the time. This gave the car a considerable weight advantage. For example, the kevlar doors weighed 65% less than a standard door yet cost around ten times as much.

More weight was saved by utilising 0.435mm diameter silver-wire cable for the wiring harness. This material was commonly used in aerospace and achieved a 50% weight reduction on standard cable.

The car boasted huge flared front wings and a massive rear spoiler. It was much lower than it's road-going counterpart and featured 16" front and 19" rear wheels and tyres. The driving position was situated as far back as possible, giving the car it's excellent weight distrubution and balance.

The Capri would be entered into the German Racing Championships (or DRM) which consisted of two divisions - up to 2 litres and above 2 litres, with turbocharged cars restricted to 1.4 litres. Regulations stated that the engine had to be based around the production model and the Capris were fitted with the British Kent 1.3 engines, overbored to 1427cc and boosted with a KKK turbocharger giving the first version of the car 380bhp.

The astonishing looks of the car led to it being dubbed the "Wunderwagen" or "Miracle Car" by an excited press. This was quite an achievement as, despite the astonishing looks, there were still enough visual cues for the public to to instantly associate the racer with the road-going Capri.

The now spectacular Capri was introduced to the world at the support race for the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim on 29th July 1978 - half way through that year's DRM championship. It was dressed in black and the red/yellow colours of Zakspeed's main sponsors Mampe. The blue oval also featured prominently.

Despite only one day's testing, the car was fastest of all around the Hockenhem circuit in the hands of Hans Heyer. As if to underline the potential of the car, Heyer took pole position by 4 seconds from the championship leading BMW 320 of Harald Ertl. In the race the car lead briefly but only completed 5 laps, succumbing to an engine faliure right in front of the Zakspeed/Ford hospitality box!

In the rest of the 1978 season, Heyer took 3 more poles and a first victory for the Capri at the Nurburgring in October.