The team was founded by Günther Hennerici, whose caravan manufacturing company gave the outfit its name. "Eifelland" referenced the Eifel mountains near the Nürburgring, where Hennerici was born. His twin brother, Heinz Hennerici, was a World War II tank commander who lost his left arm in combat but went on to become a successful touring car driver, competing at events including the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The Hennerici brothers were also instrumental in establishing the Automobil-Club Mayen. In 1970, Günther married Hannelore Werner, one of the few female Formula 2 and sports car drivers of that era.
Before graduating to Formula One, Eifelland competed in Formula Three from 1971, fielding drivers including Willi Deutsch, Gerd Koppenhauser, Erwin Derichs, Hans Hargarten, and Werner herself. In 1972 Hennerici decided to make the step up to the World Championship and commissioned a single-car entry for German driver Rolf Stommelen.
Rather than building a car from scratch, Hennerici purchased a March 721 chassis and commissioned Luigi Colani — an industrial designer internationally known for organic, biomorphic forms — to restyle the bodywork. Colani's philosophy drew on natural shapes such as fish and marine animals to produce a fully rounded, curvilinear body in sharp contrast to the angular machinery of the era.
Two features defined the original design: a cockpit air intake intended to guide airflow around the driver to the engine, and a single rear-view mirror mounted on a central stalk in front of the driver's face rather than on the car's flanks. In practice the design suffered from overheating and a lack of downforce. Over the course of the season, much of Colani's distinctive bodywork was progressively replaced with standard March panels to address the problems, though the unusual central mirror remained in place for most of the year.
Stommelen drove the car throughout the 1972 Formula One World Championship. Despite its aerodynamic shortcomings the car proved reasonably reliable, and Stommelen recorded top-ten finishes at the Monaco Grand Prix and the British Grand Prix as his best results. Financial pressures mounted across the season, including a fire at the factory, and Hennerici eventually sold both the team and his caravan company in 1974, retiring from motorsport entirely.
Heinz Hennerici's grandson, Marc Hennerici, also pursued a career in racing, winning the 2005 World Touring Car Championship Independents Trophy. The Eifelland 21 itself has secured an enduring place in the lore of Formula One as a rare example of an avant-garde industrial designer reshaping a racing car's form. Its periscope mirror and flowing body panels remain among the most recognizable visual details in the sport's early 1970s history, representing a moment when ambition in aesthetics far outran competitive performance.