HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The DFV is an
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal co ...
that was originally produced by
Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream Automotive industry, ...
for
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of t ...
. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had four valves per cylinder. Its development in 1967 for Colin Chapman's Team Lotus was sponsored and funded by major American automotive manufacturer Ford. For many years it was the dominant engine in Formula One, with the whole engine program funded by Ford's European division, Ford Europe and engines badged as "Ford" for Formula One championship races. DFVs were widely available from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s and were used by every specialist team in F1 during this period with the exception of Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Renault, BRM and Matra, who all designed, produced and ran their own engines. Variants of this engine were also used in other categories of racing, including CART, Formula 3000 and sports car racing. The engine is a 90°, 2,993 cc V8 with a bore and stroke of 85.67 × 64.90 mm (3.373 × 2.555 in) producing over 400 bhp (408 bhp at 9,000 rpm, torque at 7,000 rpm was quoted) from the start reaching over 500 bhp (510 bhp at 11,200 rpm was quoted) by the end of its Formula 1 career. The 1983 DFY variant had a revised bore and stroke of 90.00 × 58.83 mm (3.543 × 2.316 in) giving 2,993 cc and 520–530 bhp at 11,000 rpm, torque at 8,500 rpm.


Background

In 1965, the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
, that administered
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
racing, agreed to raise the series' maximum engine capacity from to from 1966. Up until that point, Colin Chapman's successful Team Lotus cars had relied on power from fast revving
Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer. History Pre WW1 The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was reloca ...
engines, but with the change in regulations Coventry Climax decided for business reasons not to develop a large capacity engine. Chapman approached Keith Duckworth, previously a gearbox engineer at Lotus but now running his fledgling
Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream Automotive industry, ...
company with Mike Costin, who commented that he could produce a competitive three-litre engine, given a development budget of £100,000. Chapman approached the
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
and David Brown of Aston Martin for funding, each without initial success. Chapman then approached Ford of Britain's public relations chief, former journalist Walter Hayes, with whom he had developed a close working relationship from the early 1960s. Since Hayes had joined Ford in 1962 the pair had previously collaborated in the production of the successful
Lotus Cortina Lotus Cortina is the commonly used term for the Ford Cortina Lotus, a high-performance sports saloon, which was produced in the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1970 by Ford in collaboration with Lotus Cars. The original version, which was based on ...
, introduced in 1963. Hayes arranged dinner for Chapman with Ford employee Harley Copp, a British-based American engineer who had backed and engineered Ford's successful entry into
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
in the 1950s. Hayes and Copp developed a business plan, which was backed by Ford UK's new chairman Stanley Gillen, and approved by Ford's Detroit head office as a two-part plan: *Stage one would produce a four-cylinder FVA twin-cam engine for Formula Two *Stage two would produce a
V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...
for Formula One, by May 1967


Formula One

The project was revealed by Hayes in a PR launch in Detroit at the end of 1965, but the engine was not ready until the third race of the 1967 season, on the 4 June at Zandvoort. Its debut proved successful.
Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...
, who was in the team at the specific request of Ford and Hayes, put his DFV-powered Lotus 49 on pole position by half a second and led for the first 10 laps but was then sidelined by a broken gear in the camshaft drive. Team-mate Jim Clark moved up through the field in his identical car and came home to win. However, this dominant performance belied a serious fault in the timing gear. Clark took three more wins that season, but reliability problems left him third in the Drivers' Championship, 10 points behind champion Denny Hulme. The progress of the engine was documented in a film produced by the Ford Motor Company's film section, entitled ''
9 Days in Summer ''9 Days in Summer'' is a promotional documentary film made by Ford that tells the story of the development of the Ford-funded Cosworth DFV and Lotus 49, the title coming from the nine Formula One races the car took part in the 1967 Formula One ...
''. Initially, the agreement between Ford, Cosworth and Lotus was binding on all parties, and Ford as the funder had no plans to sell or hire the DFV to any other teams. However, it occurred to Hayes that there was no competition: the
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
engine was underpowered; the BRM complex and too heavy; the
Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. ...
unreliable; the
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
overweight; while Dan Gurney's Weslake motor was powerful but unreliable. Only Brabham's
Repco V8 Repco is an Australian automotive engineering/retailer company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and was for many years known for reconditioning engines and for specialized manufacturing, for which they gained a high r ...
engine provided a usable combination of power, lightness and reliability, but its age and design left little room for further improvement. Hayes concluded that Ford's name could become tarnished if the Lotus were to continue winning against only lesser opposition, and that they should agree to use the unit in other teams, and hence potentially dominate Formula One. At the end of 1967, Copp and Hayes gently explained to Chapman that he would no longer have monopoly use of the DFV and in August 1967 it was announced that the power unit would be available for sale, via Cosworth Engineering, to racing teams throughout the world. Hayes released the DFV initially to French team
Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a French industrial conglomerate. During its years of operation, it was engaged in a wide range of business activities, primarily focused around automobiles, bicycles, aeronautics and wea ...
, headed by Ken Tyrrell with Jackie Stewart as a driver. What followed was a golden age, where teams big or small could buy an engine which was competitive, light, compact, easy to work with and relatively cheap (£7,500 at 1967 prices or about £90,000 in 2005 money). The DFV effectively replaced the
Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer. History Pre WW1 The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was reloca ...
as the standard F1 powerplant for the private (mostly British) teams. Lotus,
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formu ...
,
Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a French industrial conglomerate. During its years of operation, it was engaged in a wide range of business activities, primarily focused around automobiles, bicycles, aeronautics and wea ...
,
Brabham Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won fo ...
, March, Surtees, Tyrrell, Hesketh, Lola, Williams,
Penske Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...
,
Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
and Ligier are just some of the teams to have used the DFV. In 1969 and 1973 every World Championship race was won by DFV-powered cars, with the engine taking a total of 155 wins from 262 races between 1967 and 1985. The advent of ground effect aerodynamics on the F1 scene in 1977 provided a new lease of life for the now decade-old engine. The principle relied on Venturi tunnels on the underside of the car to create low pressure regions and thus additional downforce. Previously, teams running
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
and Alfa-Romeo flat-12 engines had enjoyed a handling advantage due to the low centre of gravity in such a configuration. However, for ground effect, the wide engine was completely the opposite of what was required as the cylinder heads protruded into the area where the Venturi tunnels should have been. In contrast, the V-configuration of the Cosworth engine angled the cylinders upwards and left ample space under the car for the necessary under-body profile which massively increased downforce and gave more efficient aero balance, thus increasing cornering potential and straight line speed. Ground effect British cars and DFV engines effectively killed off the V12/flat 12 engines of Ferrari and Alfa Romeo which many pundits had believed in the mid-1970s would dominate F1 well into the mid-1980s. Drivers Mario Andretti in , Alan Jones in , Nelson Piquet in and Keke Rosberg in used a combination of British ground effect chassis and a DFV engine to claim the Drivers' Championship while DFV-powered cars took the Formula 1 Constructors' World Championship in 1978, 1980 and 1981. The onset of the
turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pr ...
era in the early 1980s put an end to the DFV's F1 activities, as even with modifications the 15-year-old engine could not hope to compete with the vast power being put out by the new 1.5-litre turbocharged engines. However, in the early days of turbo F1 cars (1979–1982) the Renault, Ferrari and Toleman were unable to offer consistent opposition to the Cosworth DFV British teams. The early turbo Renault, though powerful (particularly so on high altitude tracks such as Interlagos, Kyalami, Jarama, Dijon-Prenois and the Österreichring) were much heavier, cumbersome, complicated and significantly, much more unreliable than the British Cosworth DFV teams. The extra power and torque of a turbo engine put much more strain on the gearbox, driveshafts and brakes on the Renaults and Ferraris, and during the early 1980s the sight of a Renault or Ferrari wilting under the strain of its extra power was a common sight. The turbo engine was also hampered by "throttle lag", a delay in throttle response which made the turbo cars very slow on tight, twisty circuits such as Monaco, Long Beach, Zolder, Montreal, Brands Hatch and Detroit, whereas the normally-aspirated Cosworth DFV enjoyed pin-sharp response and accuracy. Also, the light and agile British cars exploited ground-effect technology so well that even on fast tracks such as
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Silverstone, Hockenheim the DFV engine was able to win. For a few years, between 1977 when Renault debuted the powerful but unreliable turbo engine and 1982 when the DFV-powered teams began to negotiate deals for turbo engines of their own, a competitive equilibrium was established.
Michele Alboreto Michele Alboreto (; 23 December 1956 – 25 April 2001) was an Italian racing driver. He was runner up to Alain Prost in the 1985 Formula One World Championship, as well as winning the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans and 2001 12 Hours of Sebring sports ...
took the DFV's last F1 win in a Tyrrell at the in 1983, and
Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012. Brundle contested the ...
was the last person to race in F1 with a DFV, also in a Tyrrell at the in 1985. Some Cosworth-using constructors developed their engines in house during a Grand Prix season, such as John Nicholson's Nicholson McLaren operation or Williams F1 using John Judd's workshops to uprate the standard 480 BHP that the DFV was producing in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Uprated pistons, camshafts and valves meant Williams and McLaren's DFVs were producing over 510BHP at around 11,000RPM by the early 1980s, which meant the power deficit to the turbocharged Renaults and Ferraris was only around 30–40BHP in race trim. Since a DFV only needed a 190-litre fuel tank, compared to the 220+ litre sized fuel tank required by a turbo engine, it meant the power to weight ratio of a McLaren MP4 or Williams FW07/08 with their specialist DFV engines were comparable to their turbocharged opponents, albeit with better fuel consumption and much less strain on the rear tyres, gearboxes and rear axle, meaning softer compounds could be used and last longer by both Williams and McLaren, which gave a significant benefit to both grip and tyre durability. As of mid-1982, 375 engines had been built. The cost of a complete engine at that time, purchased directly from Cosworth, was £27,296, approximately .


Other formulae


Sportscar racing

The DFV was used in
sportscar racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing i ...
with some modest success. The design of the crankshaft caused vibrations that resulted in reliability problems in endurance racing. In 1968, new rules for the Sports Prototype class limited engine displacement to 3 litres and Ford (UK) sponsored the DFV-powered
Ford P68 The Ford P68, also commonly known as the Ford 3L GT or F3L, is a sports prototype racing car model introduced in March 1968. It was designed by Len Bailey, a Ford research engineer, funded by Ford Europe and built by Alan Mann Racing at Weybr ...
as their entry under the new rules. However, this car, and its derived sister the P69, failed to finish a single race during the two seasons that they competed. In 1971 a DFV-powered Ligier JS3 was able to finish first and second in two short-distance events, the best DFV-powered Sports Prototype showings to date, but was only able to achieve a non-classified finish at
Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...
after mechanical troubles. The next years would show that even that unsatisfactory result was beating the odds. The DFV came into wider use in 1972, when all purpose-built racers fell under the 3-litre engine limit. Eric Broadley's Lola, having previously focused on the 2-litre smaller class, designed their T280 model fitted with a Cosworth engine, which was very fast though it often failed to finish. Thirteen starts of DFV-powered vehicles at the Le Mans 24 Hours during 1972–74 yielded three finishes, two of which failed to complete 300 laps. The best result for DFV-powered vehicles at Le Mans was in
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, when fuel consumption rules had the field using low power tuning and slower engine speeds, which slowed the race pace and mitigated the DFV's vibration problem. The top three finishers were powered by DFVs, with the Gulf-sponsored Mirage driven by Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell finishing first. 1976 saw a slightly faster pace for the Mirage and the DFV-powered De Cadenet Lola, but they were eclipsed by the new turbocharged Porsche 936, driven by Ickx and Gijs van Lennep, in first place. After two years with DFV-powered vehicles failing to run competitive distances, a DFV-powered Rondeau was the surprise winner in the 1980 race. Jean Rondeau and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud nursed a two lap lead over the Jacky Ickx / Reinhold Joest Porsche 908/80 charging back from earlier mechanical setbacks. Another Rondeau occupied the third spot, nine laps behind the winner. In 1981 Rondeau slightly improved on the pace of the previous year but, as in 1976, DFV-powered vehicles were again outclassed by a Porsche 936, driven this time by the old Mirage winning team of Ickx and Bell. The 1981 distance result, 340 laps, was the best ever achieved with the DFV. The DFV faded from relevance over 1982–1984, showing just two finishes of over 300 laps from fourteen starts at Le Mans. Australian race driver Bap Romano used an ex-F1 Cosworth DFV engine (formerly used by
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formu ...
) in his Australian designed and built
Kaditcha Kaditcha was an automobile manufacturer in Australia. The company, formed by Queensland engineer Barry Lock, made open wheel and sports car racing cars, including cars for Formula 5000, Formula Pacific and Australian Formula 2. Sports cars The p ...
Group A Sports Car through 1983 and 1984 in the Australian Sports Car Championships. After finishing 6th in the 1983 ASCC, winning the final round of the series, he would go on to dominate the 1984 championship. The renamed
Romano WE84 The Romano WE84 is an Australian designed and built, mid-engined closed top racing car built to CAMS Group A Sports Car specifications. The car began its life as the Kaditcha K583 when it first appeared in the 1983 Australian Sports Car Champ ...
won four of the five rounds and in all bar heat two of the opening round when the car was a non-starter due to an accident in the first heat, scored fastest lap while also sitting on pole for every round.The DFV in the Romano was later replaced in late 1984 by the Cosworth DFL engine.


Use of post-DFV variants

1982 saw the introduction of 3.3 and 3.9 litre DFLs, endurance racing versions of the DFV, in the
World Endurance Championship World Endurance Championship may refer to: * FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series held since 2012 * World Sportscar Championship, an auto racing series which used the title World Endurance Championship from 1981 to 1985 * Enduran ...
. That year, the 3.3 litre variant powered the new Rondeau M382 to three podium finishes with a win in the
1000 km Monza The 6 Hours of Monza (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Monza and known after 1966 as "Trofeo Filippo Caracciolo") is an endurance race, mainly for sports cars, which is held at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. Overview Des ...
event and a strong second place standing behind Porsche in season points. The DFLs proved insufficiently reliable for C1 class racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, achieving only three finishes in 34 starts during 1982–1984, with none achieving 300 laps. After 1982 the DFLs were never reliable or competitive in the C1 class and finished consistently behind C2 cars at Le Mans. The 3.9 litre version was completely rejected by 1985. The last start for a DFL in the C1 class at Le Mans was in 1988. 1984 saw success for the 3.3 litre version in the fuel-restricted C2 class, where low power tuning mitigated its reliability issues, with two class wins on the World Championship circuit. The 3.3 litre DFL became the most used engine of the C2 class, achieving four class championships, five class wins at Le Mans between 1985 and 1990 and the best distance of any Cosworth engine at Le Mans, at 351 laps, in 1988. Reliability of the C2 class was still considered unsatisfactory, however, and as the 1980s ended, the issue led the FIA to seek a new formula to replace the C2 class. 1989 saw the introduction of the 3.5 litre DFZ variant as a C1 class engine. It had the honor of being the first Cosworth engine to finish ahead of the C2 winner at Le Mans, but it was an inconsistent finisher and not competitive within the C1 class. It proved a consistent finisher and winner in the FIA Cup class, the low powered replacement of the C2 class, in 1992. The 3.5 litre DFR variant yielded more consistent results as a C1 engine for the
Spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...
team in 1990 and the Euro Racing team in 1991, with two third-place finishes for the former, but they were never able to challenge the Peugeots, Jaguars and Sauber Mercedes for the top spot.


Formula 3000

The DFV was also the engine for which the Formula 3000 series was created in 1985, and thus it won every race that year. The DFV and its variants continued racing in F3000 for a decade, Pedro Lamy taking the last win for a DFV in top-class motorsport, at Pau in 1993, its 65th F3000 win in 123 races.


Variants


DFW

The first variant produced from the DFV was a reduced-capacity unit for the
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
-based Tasman Series races of 1968–69. The changes between the DFV and DFW specification were limited to a reduced
stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...
, taking capacity to 2491 cc and reducing power output to ~360 bhp.Robson, G. (2007) Cosworth DFV: Horses for courses. ''Motor Sport'', 83(7), 44–48. This was the smallest capacity variant of the DFV that was officially produced by Cosworth. The engine was a direct replacement for its DFV parent in Lotus's 49s. The small engine proved just as competitive as the larger version; and Jim Clark took four race victories in 1968, followed by one win for Piers Courage and two victories for Jochen Rindt in 1969. Derek Bell drove a DFW version of the
Brabham BT26 The Repco Brabham BT26 was a Formula One racing car design. A development of the previous BT24, its Repco engines were unreliable, but following a switch to Cosworth DFV engines it scored two World Championship Grand Prix wins and finished r ...
to second place in the
1970 New Zealand Grand Prix The 1970 New Zealand Grand Prix was a race held at the Pukekohe Park Raceway on 10 January 1970. The race had 20 starters. It was the 16th New Zealand Grand Prix, and doubled as the second round of the 1970 Tasman Series. Frank Matich won his ...
, and for the 1971 Tasman Series previous champion Chris Amon drove a DFW-powered version of his current Formula One chassis, the
March 701 The March 701 is a Formula One racing car model, designed by Robin Herd with Peter Wright, and built by March Engineering. The 701 was March's first Formula One design – following their one-off March 693P Formula Three prototype of 1969 – ...
, to another podium finish, but in both years the Formula One-derived engine was largely outmatched by Formula 5000 entrants. After the demise of the 2.5L component of the
Tasman Formula Tasman most often refers to Abel Tasman (1603–1659), Dutch explorer. Tasman may also refer to: Animals and plants * Tasman booby * Tasman flax-lily * Tasman parakeet (disambiguation) * Tasman starling * Tasman whale People * Tasman ( ...
following the 1971 season, the four DFW engines were converted to DFV specification.


Formula One

The DFV had three major upgrades over its life in the top formula, with the development of first the DFY and then the DFZ, followed by a major redesign to produce the final DFR type.


DFY

With the introduction of turbocharged engines towards the end of the 1970s, Cosworth's naturally aspirated DFV began to lose its predominance. In an attempt to recover some of the performance deficit Cosworth designer Mario Illien reconfigured the cylinder aspect ratio to allow the engine to rev more freely, and combined this with a narrow-angle valve set-up and
Nikasil Nikasil is a trademarked electrodeposited lipophilic nickel matrix silicon carbide coating for engine components, mainly piston engine cylinder liners. Development Nikasil was introduced by Mahle in 1967, and initially developed to allow Wank ...
Aluminium liners. The changes upped power output to ~520 bhp, but this was not sufficient to keep pace with the turbo cars at most tracks, and it was only through a modicum of luck that
Michele Alboreto Michele Alboreto (; 23 December 1956 – 25 April 2001) was an Italian racing driver. He was runner up to Alain Prost in the 1985 Formula One World Championship, as well as winning the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans and 2001 12 Hours of Sebring sports ...
was able to take what would prove to be the DFV-family's final F1 victory, at the
1983 Detroit Grand Prix The 1983 Detroit Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 5, 1983, in Detroit, Michigan. Summary Circuit changes The circuit had been slightly modified from its original configuration the year before, with the pit lane extended to p ...
. The DFY lived on with back-marker teams until the end of the season, when Cosworth switched their efforts to supporting the new turbocharged Ford GBA V6.


DFZ

The announcement at end of the season that turbocharged cars would be banned from , and the introduction of the Jim Clark Cup and Colin Chapman Trophy championships for naturally aspirated cars for , prompted Cosworth to revive their elderly engine design. This resulted in the DFZ, essentially an updated version of the final DFY design. However, the capacity increase for the new 3.5L naturally aspirated formula running alongside the 1.5L turbos in 1987 allowed Cosworth to increase the power output of the unit to . The engine was intended as a temporary measure to tide smaller teams over until the turbos were banned at the end of the season. Tyrrell, AGS, March, Lola and Coloni chassis were all powered by Cosworth in 1987. Jonathan Palmer of Tyrrell eventually won the drivers' Jim Clark Cup, and his team took the constructors' laurels in the Colin Chapman Trophy. The engine remained in service with minor teams until the end of 1988 and development saw a slight power increase to . The DFZ did not race in Formula One beyond 1988 as the general release of the DFR engine made it obsolete. The engine did however have a second brief lease of life in sportscar racing, when the FIA announced plans to transition towards using 3.5-L F1-style engines in Group C in the early 1990s. In 1990 Spice Engineering adapted its existing Group C design to take a 3.5L DFZ instead of the previously used 3.3-L DFL engine. However the new engine caused significant problems due to vibration, which resulted in the breakage of components and a significant increase in running costs - Gordon Spice estimated that the DFZ-powered car was about four times more expensive to run than the DFL-engined one. The DFZ was successfully used in FIA Cup class racing in 1992, with that low-powered class being the last appearance of the DFV family in sportscar racing.


DFR

From Benetton had been operating as the works Ford team, essentially taking over the role from the now defunct
Haas Lola Team Haas (USA) Ltd., sometimes called Beatrice Haas after its major sponsor, was an American Formula One team founded by Carl Haas in 1984 after an agreement with Beatrice Foods, a US consumer products conglomerate, which competed in the Worl ...
team. With the abandonment of turbocharging it was clear that the venerable DFV/Y/Z design was nowhere near being competitive with far newer offerings from
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
and
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
who were building V10 engines for 1989 and beyond, and
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
who were building what they knew, a V12 (
Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–19 ...
entered F1 in 1989 and like Ferrari, also went down the V12 path). To counter this, drastic changes were made for the DFR of 1988. Although superficially a DFV-design, almost the only feature carried over from previous versions into the DFR was the basic 90° V8 engine architecture. The DFR became available to all customers in 1989, with the Benetton team also using this engine until the 1989 British Grand Prix. The DFR struggled on until the 1991 season finally being eclipsed by the higher revving abilities of new pneumatic valve gear engines such as the HB, and was last used in that year's Australian Grand Prix by the Footwork, Fondmetal, Larrousse and Coloni teams, nearly a quarter of a century after the DFV's first race. By the time of its demise, continued improvement had pushed the DFR power output to nearly , 60% higher than the original 1967 DFV. The DFR enjoyed success in 1988 with Benetton. The team was the best performed non-turbo team of the season finishing third in the Constructors' Championship behind Ferrari (turbo) and the all-conquering
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formu ...
-Honda. Thierry Boutsen recorded five podium finishes and Alessandro Nannini scored two podiums. The DFR was also the most powerful non-turbo of the season with a reported . This compared to the 590 of the DFZ and the new Judd V8 with a reported . This still lagged behind the Honda and Ferrari turbos which were producing over each. The 3.5 L DFR engine was later used in the Allard J2X-C Group C
sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
, in 1992.


North American series


DFX

A 2.65-L turbocharged version of the DFV was developed privately by the Vels Parnelli Jones team for the 1976 USAC IndyCar season, in the face of opposition from Duckworth. The Parnelli-Cosworth car took its first victory at the 1976 Pocono 500, the fifth race of the season, driven by Al Unser. Unser and his Cosworth-powered Parnelli took two further victories before the end of the year, in Wisconsin and Phoenix, and finished the championship in fourth position. Duckworth had been a guest of the Vels Parnelli team during the Pocono victory, as Parnelli Jones and Vel Miletich wanted to establish the team as the North American distributor for the turbocharged, Indycar-specification engine. However, shortly after the maiden race victory Cosworth poached two key engineers from the Parnelli team and set up facilities in
Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific O ...
, to develop and market the engine themselves. Henceforth it became known as the DFX. It went on to dominate American Indy car racing in much the same way the DFV had dominated Formula One. The engine won the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
ten consecutive years from 1978 until 1987, as well as winning all USAC and CART championships between 1977 and 1987 except for one. For a brief time in the early 1980s, some of the DFX engines were badged as Fords. The DFX powered 81 consecutive Indy car victories from 1981 to 1986, and 153 victories total. By the time it was replaced, the DFX was developing over .


DFS

In 1986 GM financed the British
Ilmor Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, M ...
firm to build a competitor to the DFX in American Indy car racing. Mario Illien's Ilmor-Chevrolet Indy V-8, which owed not a little to the DFY of five years earlier, quickly took over dominance of the sport. Ford responded by commissioning Cosworth to redesign the DFX to include a number of DFR improvements. In 1989, they introduced an updated "short
stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...
" version of the Indy car engine which would be referred to as the "DFS" ("S" for ''short stroke'')., and the
Nikasil Nikasil is a trademarked electrodeposited lipophilic nickel matrix silicon carbide coating for engine components, mainly piston engine cylinder liners. Development Nikasil was introduced by Mahle in 1967, and initially developed to allow Wank ...
Aluminium liners, adopted on DFY in 1983. The engine was fielded by two teams in its first season: Kraco Racing (
Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 a ...
) and Dick Simon Racing ( Arie Luyendyk), and its development was an effort to regain dominance of the sport. At Indy, neither car qualified in the front two rows, but both started in the top ten. On race day, both drivers dropped out with engine failures. Rahal won one race in 1989 at the Meadowlands. However, the Kraco team merged with Galles at season's end, dropped the program, and switched to Chevrolets. In 1990, the factory development was continued by Scott Brayton and
Dominic Dobson Dominic Dobson (born September 14, 1957) is a German-born former CART and Craftsman Truck Series driver who made 7 starts in the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of 12th in 1992, over 60 starts in the CART (Championship Auto Racing Series), wit ...
, but neither won any races. The engine was utilized by other CART teams in 1991–1992, and was retired after the introduction of the Ford Cosworth XB with only one victory, that being Rahal's in 1989.


DFL

In 1981 a variant of the DFV named the DFL (for ''long-distance'') was produced specifically for use in the new Group C sports car racing class. The engine was modified to larger capacity and versions, both with wider bore and longer stroke dimensions than the standard DFV. Both versions were plagued by reliability issues worse than with the DFV they were supposed to replace. The 3.3-L version powered Rondeau to the second points standing in the
World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and ...
season of 1982, but it was insufficiently reliable to be competitive in the longer events. Thereafter, the 3.3-L DFL in the C1 class was unsuccessful, with those who managed to actually finish invariably ending up behind C2 cars. The new fuel-restricted C Junior (C2) class in 1983 opened a niche for successful use of the 3.3-L version, where low power tuning brought its reliability to a level where it could succeed. In the C2 category it powered many privateer cars, mostly Spices and Tigas, to class victories around the world, including five at the
24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...
between 1985 and 1990. The 3.9-L version never achieved the same success as its smaller sibling, with most users finding incurable engine vibrations and it was out of competition use by 1985. It was used to power the famous Ford Supervan and Supervan 2 promotional projects, as well as the Australian designed and built
Romano WE84 The Romano WE84 is an Australian designed and built, mid-engined closed top racing car built to CAMS Group A Sports Car specifications. The car began its life as the Kaditcha K583 when it first appeared in the 1983 Australian Sports Car Champ ...
in the Australian Sports Car Championship, which ran the 3.0-L DFV in the championship before upgrading to the 3.9-L DFL for the 1984 World Endurance Championship round at the Sandown Raceway in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
, where it finished 100 laps behind the class winner. In August 1982, a turbocharged version of this engine was tested briefly on the
Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hos ...
Circuit mounted on a Ford C100.


P86 750cc motorcycle engine

In 1973 Norton approached Cosworth to help build a new engine that could be used for both street and racing motorcycles. The idea was to create a 750-cc parallel-twin version of the DFV, with liquid-cooling, 4-valve head, dual overhead cams and flat combustion chambers. Expected power was to be 65–75hp for road bikes, and at least 100hp for the racing bikes. The P86 had a bore of 85.6mm and a stroke of 64.8mm, giving a capacity of 746cc. A timing belt was used to drive the cams, rather than the gear train used on the DFV. The P86 shared the same combustion chamber, head designs, pistons and rods from the DFV. Norton specified that the P86 must run through a single carburettor source, which led to a 360° firing interval, with both pistons rising and falling as a pair. As this led to increased vibration, a dual counterbalancing system was developed, in conjunction with a heavy flywheel. In an engine weighing 195lb, 75lb of that was a rotating mass inside, which was a lot of inertia to be driven. The P86 had downdraught ports like the DFV, but used two Amal carburettors, rather than the fuel injection of the DFV. The carburettors and angle in relation hampered fuel delivery and power output. Dyno testing showed that the P86 developed 90hp, down on the projected 100hp, while the massive amount of rotating weight inside the engine (counter balancers and flywheel) hindered throttle response. The overall weight of the engine meant that it was never going to be as light as equivalent engines from Japanese manufacturers. The belt driven timing system was inaccurate, while the belts themselves were fragile and prone to breaking. The P86 was fitted in a Norton 'frameless' chassis that made its racing debut in 1975, but results were poor, due to the lack of power. When Norton Villiers Triumph was split up in 1976, an offshoot company called NVT Engineering disbanded the testing and racing departments, and the existing bikes and spare engines (30 in total) were sold off. The P86 made a brief comeback 10 years later at the 1986 Battle of the Twins, held at the
Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASC ...
. The Quantel entry featured one of the surviving P86 engines – reworked, fitted with fuel injection and bored out to 823cc. Ridden by Paul Lewis, the Quantel finished 2nd, and would win the event in 1988.


Major successes

DFV normally aspirated 3.0-litre 90° V8
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
Drivers' Champions (12): * 1968
Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...
( Team Lotus) * 1969 Jackie Stewart (
Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a French industrial conglomerate. During its years of operation, it was engaged in a wide range of business activities, primarily focused around automobiles, bicycles, aeronautics and wea ...
) * 1970 Jochen Rindt ( Team Lotus) * 1971 Jackie Stewart ( Tyrrell) * 1972 Emerson Fittipaldi ( Team Lotus) * 1973 Jackie Stewart ( Tyrrell) * 1974 Emerson Fittipaldi (
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formu ...
) * 1976 James Hunt (
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formu ...
) * 1978 Mario Andretti ( Team Lotus) * 1980 Alan Jones ( Williams) * 1981 Nelson Piquet (
Brabham Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won fo ...
) * 1982 Keke Rosberg ( Williams)
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
Constructors' Champions (10): * 1968 Lotus * 1969 Matra * 1970 Lotus * 1971 Tyrrell * 1972 Lotus * 1973 Lotus * 1974 McLaren * 1978 Lotus * 1980 Williams * 1981 Williams Le Mans 24 Hours winners (2): * 1975 Jacky Ickx/ Derek Bell (Mirage), * 1980 Jean Rondeau/ Jean-Pierre Jaussaud (Rondeau) Formula 3000 Champions (6): * 1985
Christian Danner Christian Josef Danner (born 4 April 1958) is a former racing driver from Germany. Career Formula Two and Formula 3000 The son of car safety expert Max Danner, Danner started his motor racing career immediately after leaving school in 1977. Af ...
( March Engineering) * 1986 Ivan Capelli ( March Engineering) * 1987 Stefano Modena ( March Engineering) * 1988 Roberto Moreno ( Reynard) * 1992 Luca Badoer ( Reynard) ---- DFX turbocharged 2.65-litre 90° V8 Indy 500 winners (10): * 1978 Al Unser ( Lola) * 1979
Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...
(
Penske Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...
) * 1980 Johnny Rutherford ( Chaparral) * 1981
Bobby Unser Robert William Unser (February 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35 (behind his brother Al, A. J. F ...
(
Penske Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...
) * 1982 Gordon Johncock (
Wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...
) * 1983
Tom Sneva Thomas E. Sneva (born June 1, 1948) is a retired American race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983. He primarily raced in Indy cars, and was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. A former math teacher from Spoka ...
(March) * 1984
Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...
(March) * 1985 Danny Sullivan (March) * 1986
Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 a ...
(March) * 1987 Al Unser (March) USAC Champions (3): * 1977
Tom Sneva Thomas E. Sneva (born June 1, 1948) is a retired American race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983. He primarily raced in Indy cars, and was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. A former math teacher from Spoka ...
(
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formu ...
/
Penske Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...
) * 1978
Tom Sneva Thomas E. Sneva (born June 1, 1948) is a retired American race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983. He primarily raced in Indy cars, and was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. A former math teacher from Spoka ...
(
Penske Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...
) * 1979 A. J. Foyt ( Parnelli*) CART Champions (9): * 1979
Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...
(
Penske Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...
) * 1980 Johnny Rutherford ( Chaparral) * 1981
Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...
(
Penske Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...
) * 1982
Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...
(
Penske Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...
) * 1983 Al Unser (
Penske Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...
) * 1984 Mario Andretti ( Lola) * 1985 Al Unser (March) * 1986
Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 a ...
(March) * 1987
Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 a ...
( Lola)


Partial Formula One Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


References


External links

* Darren Galpin. (June 22, 1999
Customer power: the Cosworth DFV story
''8W''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cosworth Dfv Formula One engines World Sportscar Championship engines V8 engines Ford engines Cosworth