As it had often happened with the cars of previous years, the Shadow DN11 was started by a designer (in this case Gentry) to be completed by other technicians (Owen and Vic Morris) after the departure of the first. The front suspension was completely new, while the rear one was derived from the mid-1979 DN9B. The engine was the classic Cosworth V8. The scarcity of budget available conditioned the entire 1980 season, with various drivers (Lees, Kennedy, Johansson) who took turns trying to qualify quite an uncompetitive car.