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Cosworth is a British
Cosworth is a British automotive engineering
Automotive engineering, along with aerospace engineering and naval architecture, is a branch of vehicle engineering, incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software, and safety engineering as applied to the design, manufactu ...
company founded in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1958, specialising in high-performance 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 combus ...
s, powertrain
A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...
, and electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
for automobile racing
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organi ...
(motorsport) and mainstream automotive industries. Cosworth is based in Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
, England, with American facilities in Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
and Mooresville, North Carolina
Mooresville is a large town located in the southwestern section of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 50,193 at the 2020 United States Census making it ...
.
Cosworth has collected 176 wins in 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, ...
(F1) as engine supplier, ranking third with most wins, behind 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 Mercedes
Mercedes may refer to:
People
* Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name
Automobile-related
* Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...
.
Corporate history
The company was founded as a British racinginternal 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 combus ...
maker in 1958 by Mike Costin
Michael Charles Costin (born 10 July 1929, in Hendon) was, together with Keith Duckworth, the co-founder of Cosworth Engineering, a producer of Ford-funded and sponsored engines. Drivers including Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Jochen Rindt, Emerso ...
and Keith Duckworth
David Keith Duckworth (10 August 1933 – 18 December 2005) was an English mechanical engineer. He is most famous for designing the Cosworth DFV (Double Four Valve) engine, an engine that revolutionised the sport of Formula One.
Early life an ...
. Its company name, "Cosworth", was derived as a portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsLotus Engineering Ltd., and Cosworth initially maintained a strong relationship with 
Initial series production engines ( Mk.II, Mk.V, Mk.VIII, and Mk.XIV) were sold to Lotus exclusively, and many of the other racing engines up to Mk.XII were delivered to Team Lotus. The success of
In 1966,
One of the most successful and longest-lived projects of Cosworth has been its
Cosworth solidified its association with Ford in 1969, by developing a 
The turbo charged 1778 cc BDT was created in 1981, which powered the never-raced RWD Escort RS1700T. In 1984, 4WD
A fuel-injected belt-driven DOHC GA (also called the GAA) was based on the 60 degree V6 block of Ford Essex, and was used for the
The FBA and FBC engines were found in the Ford Granada and 
In 1995, with a new version of the Scorpio, it was upgraded with a wider torque spread and higher power – to , from a variable intake system and reprofiled cams. The NVH was improved with a change from a single chain to drive all four camshafts – to one chain to drive one bank of cams and a second for the other bank; this engine was known as the 'BOB'.
A racing version was also available for a short time – FBE – with an individual throttle butterfly for each cylinder.
FBB and FBD engines existed as development engines but these were never released.
The two production engines were always mated to an automatic gearbox but have become popular in the custom car scene where they have been mated to the 4x4 manual transmission and the rear-wheel-drive manual transmission from the Ford Sierra XR4 and XR4x4. There are also companies that offer twin and single turbo conversions, and other modifications to increase power to usually around . These engines can be bought relatively cheaply and, providing they are well serviced, engines have been known to cover over 200,000 miles without major work being required.
The YB series of engines are based on the older inline-4 Ford T88 engine block, and were introduced in the road-going Ford Sierra RS Cosworth in 1986 with . With 5,000 units built for homologation purposes in Group A, both for rallies and touring cars. Racing versions of the RS Cosworth were developing around , but with the small Garrett T3 turbo on the cars reliability was a problem. A limited edition evolution model was introduced in mid-1987, the Ford Sierra RS500, Sierra RS500 which included a bigger T4 turbo, with power initially at around the mark in 1987, but in later years climbing to close to some in full racing trim.
The RS500 came to dominate
The GBA was designed by Keith Duckworth and Geoff Goddard, though many in Formula One doubted Duckworth's ability to design another truly competitive engine due to his known distaste for turbocharging in general. Rather than design an entirely new engine, Duckworth instead chose to originally try and develop an old, modified Straight 4, 4 cylinder BDA sports car engine as he believed 4 cylinder engines were more compact and economical than a V6 (Cosworth's chief race engine designer Geoff Goddard was against the idea of the straight 4, but reluctantly let Duckworth go down that path). However, after numerous failures of the test engines on the dynamometer which were eventually traced to an incurable vibration at the crankshaft, Duckworth and Goddard designed an all new 120° V6 engine instead, the same configuration as the
Cosworth designed a series of replacements for the DFS to be used in IndyCar and
In the US, the name has also appeared in the title of a road car (well before it did in Europe) as the Cosworth version of the Chevrolet Cosworth Vega, Chevrolet Vega. Only 3,508 1975 and 1976 Cosworth Vegas were produced from March 1975 through 1976. The engine features the Vega sleeveless, aluminium-alloy block fitted with forged components. The twin-cam, 16-valve, aluminium cylinder head design was assisted by Cosworth, but Chevrolet did the development work. The engine features electronic ignition, Bendix Corporation, Bendix electronic fuel injection#Electronic, electronic fuel injection, and stainless steel headers. The final US emissions standardised version produces 110 bhp. Cosworth's EA racing version was not successful due to engine block structural failures. Chevrolet later produced a heavy-duty 'off-road' block with thicker walls to better withstand the racing application, but by that time Cosworth had moved on. Projected first year sales of the Cosworth Vega had been 5,000. With only 3,508 cars produced and many unsold, the car was discontinued. 1,500 hand-built Cosworth Vega engines were simply scrapped for lack of demand.
Other published projects for Adam Opel AG include the Opel Ascona, Opel Ascona 400 / Opel Manta, Manta 400 rally cars and the 2.0L 16V engines in the Opel Kadett, Opel Astra GSi, Opel Vectra and Opel Calibra turbo.
Other companies known to have benefitted from the Cosworth engineering input are Mercedes-Benz (with the 190 E 2.3-16) and 
The request was a huge surprise for Cosworth, and the original brief for a 320 bhp engine based on the 136 bhp Mercedes M102 2.3-litre SOHC 4-cylinder engine was duly passed to Mike Hall, who "drew the famed DFV and BDA engine"."Flying the Flag", Autocar 7 August 1985, pp32-33 Designed around the existing M102 head bolt pattern, the new twin cam, 16-valve, pentroof head, had its valves set at 45° included angle, rather than the 40° angle of the #BDA, BDA. The valves were the biggest that could be fitted into the combustion chamber. Flat top pistons delivered the 10.5:1 compression ratio. The new Cosworth WAA engine also was Cosworth's first one-piece head, i.e. the camshaft carrier was cast integral with the head itself. Again the constraints of the existing head-bolt pattern meant that Hall had to shift the camshaft bearings from outside each pair of camlobes as in the BDA to in between each cylinder's pair of cam lobes. The upside being that this configuration made for less flex at high rpm.
The advent of the AWD turbo Audi Quattro gave the rear-wheel-drive, normally aspirated 190E rally car no chance of being successful and the competition car was stillborn. Instead Mercedes-Benz decided to recoup its development cost by selling the car as a road going sports-sedan. Hall detuned the WAA race engine to 185 bhp by reducing the port diameters and a more restrictive fuel injection and induction was substituted for the race items to complete the detune. All WAA 2.3-16 engines were built in the Cosworth factory with the heads being produced by the Coscast method.
Cosworth assisted with the later 2.5-16 engine (WAB), and the short-stroke 2.5-16 Evo engines (WAC) although these were all manufactured in house by Mercedes-Benz. The 190E 2.3-16 became the basis for privateer Mercedes entries into the DTM from 1988. The short-stroke 2.5-16 190E EVO II was race-developed to 375+ bhp, gaining the 1992 DTM crown with Klaus Ludwig at the wheel.
A V10 designated WDA was also built and tested in a Volvo S80 in 1997, but this did not see production.
In 2020, Gordon Murray Automotive commissioned Cosworth to design and build a V12 for use in their new Gordon Murray T.50, T.50 sports car; which produces at 11,500 rpm, and of torque at 9,000 rpm.
Cosworth made an attempt at designing a full
List of Cosworth engine types
{{Volkswagen Group Manufacturing companies established in 1958 1958 establishments in England Companies based in Cambridge Manufacturing companies based in Northampton Ford of Europe Volkswagen Group Formula One engine manufacturers Formula One constructors IndyCar Series engine manufacturers Formula One cars that never raced Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom Cosworth
Colin Chapman
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars.
In 1952 he founded the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman ...
; and initial revenues of the company came almost exclusively from Lotus
Lotus may refer to:
Plants
*Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly:
** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae
**Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...
. When the company was founded in 1958, Duckworth left Lotus, leaving Costin (who had signed a term-employment contract
An employment contract or contract of employment is a kind of contract used in labour law to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a bargain.
The contract is between an "employee" and an "employer". It has arisen out of the old ...
with Chapman) at the company. Until 1962, Costin worked on Cosworth projects in his private time, while being active as a key Lotus engineer on the development of Lotus 15
The Lotus 15 is a front-engine sports racing car designed by Colin Chapman of Lotus, built from 1958 until 1960.
Series 1
The 15 is a two-seater, front-engine, rear wheel drive sports racer with an aluminium body over a space frame configuratio ...
through 26 (Elan), as well as leading the Team Lotus contingent at foreign races, as evidenced by the 1962 Le Mans Lotus scandal.
Initial series production engines ( Mk.II, Mk.V, Mk.VIII, and Mk.XIV) were sold to Lotus exclusively, and many of the other racing engines up to Mk.XII were delivered to Team Lotus. The success of Formula Junior
Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class ...
engines ( Mk.III, IV, XI, and XVII
17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number.
Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers.
In mathematics
17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...
) started bringing in non-Lotus revenues, and the establishment of Formula B
Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the International Motor Sports Association, IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in a ...
by the Sports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...
(SCCA) allowed the financial foundation of Cosworth to be secured by the increased sales of Mk.XIII, a pure racing engine based on Lotus TwinCam
The Lotus-Ford Twin Cam is an inline-four petrol engine developed by Lotus for the 1962 Lotus Elan. A few early examples displaced 1.5 litres, but the majority were 1.55-litre (1557ml) engines. It used a Ford 116E iron cylinder block and a new ...
, through its domination of the class. This newly found security enabled the company to distance itself from the Lotus Mk.VII and Elan optional road engine assembly business, and allowed its resources to be concentrated on racing engine development.
The first Cosworth-designed cylinder head
In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head (often abbreviated to simply "head") sits above the cylinders and forms the roof of the combustion chamber.
In sidevalve engines, the head is a simple sheet of metal; whereas in more modern ov ...
was for SCA series; with a single overhead camshaft
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
(SOHC) reverse-flow configuration, similar to the Coventry Climax FWE engine. A real success was achieved with the next gear-driven double overhead camshaft
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
(DOHC) four-valve FVA in 1966, when Cosworth, with a help from Chapman, convinced Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
to purchase the rights to the design, and sign a development contract – including an eight-cylinder version. This resulted in the DFV, which dominated 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, ...
for many years.
From this time on, Cosworth was supported by Ford for many years, and many of the Cosworth designs were owned by Ford and named as Ford engines under similar contracts. Another success by the BD series in the 1970s put Cosworth on a growing track.
Cosworth then went through a number of ownership changes. After Duckworth decided he did not want to be involved with the day-to-day business of running a growing company, he sold out the ownership to United Engineering Industries (UEI) in 1980, retaining his life presidency and day-to-day technical involvement with Cosworth, and becoming a UEI board director; UEI was a group of small- to medium-sized technology companies, which was taken over by Carlton Communications
Carlton was a British media company. It was led by Michael P. Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it was bought by Granada plc in a corporate takeover to form ITV plc. Carlton shareholders gained ap ...
in 1988 – Carlton was primarily interested in some of the audio-visual companies in the UEI portfolio, and Cosworth was a poor fit with these; a new buyer for the company in the engineering/automotive sector was sought, and the traditional engineering company Vickers plc
Vickers plc was the remainder of Vickers-Armstrongs after the nationalisation of three of its four operating groups: aviation (as a 50% share since 1960 of British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) in 1977), shipbuilding ( Vickers Limited Shipbuilding ...
bought Cosworth in 1990.
In September 1998, Vickers sold Cosworth to Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
Th ...
. Audi kept the engineering, manufacturing and casting unit which it called Cosworth Technology and sold the race engine division, Cosworth Racing, and its electronics division, Pi Research
The number (; spelled out as "pi") is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, approximately equal to 3.14159. The number appears in many formulas across mathematics and physics. It is an irrat ...
, to Ford. In December 2004, Audi announced that it sold Cosworth Technology to Mahle GmbH
MAHLE GmbH is a German automotive parts manufacturer based in Stuttgart, Germany. It is one of the largest automotive suppliers worldwide. As a manufacturer of components and systems for the combustion engine and its periphery, the company is one ...
. Cosworth Technology was then renamed as MAHLE Powertrain
MAHLE Powertrain Ltd is the wholly owned engineering services division of MAHLE GmbH. With its headquarters in Northampton, UK and sister company in Plymouth, Michigan, United States the company specialises in the design, development and tes ...
on 1 July 2005.
On 15 November 2004 Ford sold Cosworth Racing to Champ Car
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...
World Series owners Gerald Forsythe
Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Iri ...
and Kevin Kalkhoven
Kevin Oscar Newton Kalkhoven (1944 – 4 January 2022) was an Australian venture capitalist and auto racing magnate based in California. He served as CEO of JDS Uniphase and was an investor in Cosworth Group Holdings Limited, an automotive tech ...
. In December 2004, Ford also sold Pi Research to Kalkhoven and Forsythe, creating the current Cosworth Group.
Since 2006, Cosworth has diversified to provide engineering consultancy, high performance electronics, and component manufacture services outside of its classic motorsport customer base. On 25 February 2008, Cosworth was awarded a $5.4 million contract by the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
to develop a heavy fuel engine for their RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Staying true to the company roots, Cosworth established an engineering partnership with Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
on one of the world's most powerful hybrid electric
A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an Electric motor, electric propulsion system (hybrid vehicle drivetrain). The presence of the electric powertr ...
road car engines for the Aston Martin Valkyrie
The Aston Martin Valkyrie (also known by its code-names as AM-RB 001 and Nebula) is a limited production hybrid sports car collaboratively built by British automobile manufacturers Aston Martin, Red Bull Racing Advanced Technologies and severa ...
. Their naturally-aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine
A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines.
The fi ...
develops at 10,500 rpm, and 740 N⋅m (546 lbf⋅ft) of torque at 7,000 rpm, setting a new standard for maximum rpm and weight
Cosworth supplied its last premier class racing engines to one F1 team in 2013, the Marussia F1 Team.
Internal combustion engines
Early types
The following is the list of initial products, withcylinder head
In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head (often abbreviated to simply "head") sits above the cylinders and forms the roof of the combustion chamber.
In sidevalve engines, the head is a simple sheet of metal; whereas in more modern ov ...
s modified, but not originally designed by Cosworth, on Ford Kent engine
The Ford Kent is an internal combustion engine from Ford of Europe. Originally developed in 1959 for the Ford Anglia, it is an in-line four-cylinder pushrod engine with a cast-iron cylinder head and block.
The Kent family can be divided into t ...
cylinder block
In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure which contains the cylinders and other components. In an early automotive engine, the engine block consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attac ...
s. The exceptions were Mk.XVII and MAE (modified Anglia engine), which had intake port sleeves for downdraft carburettors brazed into the stock cast iron cylinder head, in place of the normal side draft ports, thus could be considered Cosworth designs.
In addition to the above, Cosworth designed and provided the assembly work for Lotus Elan
Lotus Elan is the name of two separate ranges of automobiles produced by Lotus Cars. The first series of cars was produced between 1962 and 1975 as a rear-wheel drive vehicle. The second series was produced between 1989 and 1995 as a front-wheel ...
Special Equipment optional road engines with special camshafts and high compression pistons.
The final model of the above initial series was the ''MAE'' in 1965, when new rules were introduced in Formula 3
Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...
allowing up to engines with 36 mm intake restrictor plates. MAE used one barrel of a two barrel Weber IDA downdraft carburettor with the other barrel blanked off. The domination of this engine was absolute as long as these regulations lasted until 1968. As Cosworth had a serious difficulty meeting the demand, the MAE was mainly sold as a kit. This experience led to the later FVA/DFV contract to be drawn where the responsibility of development rested with Cosworth, and the manufacturing right and responsibility rested with Ford. There also were some specially cast iron heads with similar dimensions to these brazed heads with titanium alloy valve spring retainers called the "screamer head" for MAE in later years.
The SCA series
A year before the introduction of the MAE, the single overhead cam two valve SCA was introduced. It was a 997 cc engine based onFord Cortina
The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s.
The Cortina was produced in fi ...
116E block that was designed for Formula 2
Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name return ...
, and featured the first totally Cosworth-designed head, Laystall forged crankshaft, steel main bearing caps and pistons with only one compression ring and one oil scraper ring each. Cylinder head to block sealing was by a head gasket incorporating Cooper Ring A Wills Ring or Cooper Ring is a form of all-metallic O-ring seal. They are used for extremely arduous service, such as sealing the head gasket of high performance piston engines.
Hollow, metallic Wills Rings are used as they have better springback ...
s. The basic configuration was quite similar to Coventry Climax FWE on Lotus Elite
The Lotus Elite name has been used for two production vehicles and one concept vehicle developed and manufactured by British automobile manufacturer Lotus Cars. The first generation Elite Type 14 was produced from 1957 until 1963 and the second ...
including its SOHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
reverse-flow design, except for a series of seven spur gears (one on the crank, two intermediary gears on two fixed shafts mounted on the front cover back plate, one on the 116E camshaft used as a jackshaft, two on a common fixed shaft in the head, and one on the camshaft) driving a five-bearing camshaft and the Ford five main bearing iron block. The intake ports and the oil scavenge pickup for dry sump lubrication were canted 25 degrees, so they faced straight up and down, respectively, when the engine was mounted 25 degrees from vertical to the right for a lower centre of gravity.
The SCA initially had two 40DCM2 Weber twin-choke downdraft sand-cast carburettors mounted on top to produce 115 hp, which was replaced by Lucas fuel injection in 1966, eventually reaching 140 hp.
The longer stroke SCB was built to compare against the 1,498 cc Mk.XVI, and upon proving its superior power against the Mundy
Edmond Enright (born 19 May 1975), known professionally as Mundy, is an Irish singer-songwriter and founder of the independent record label Camcor Records.
Biography
He released his debut album ''Jelly Legs'' in 1996 on the Epic Records label ...
-designed two-valve crossflow DOHC head, it acted as the benchmark for the development of FVA to measure the benefits and shortcomings of a four valve crossflow DOHC design. It was the results of this four valve development work that formed the basis for many of the Cosworth engines that followed.
A larger 85 mm bore SCC with the same short-stroke five-bearing crankshaft as the SCA was built and sold for SCCA
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...
1.1 litre sports car class.
The FVA series
The Cortina Crossflow block was also the basis for the FVA (four valve Type A), an F2 engine introduced in 1966, and developed under the same contract as the DFV, for the new 1.6-litre engine rules. This engine featured 16 valves operated by twin overhead camshafts driven by a train of 9 gears. The metering unit for the Lucas mechanicalfuel injection
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All comp ...
was rotated by a toothed belt from the gear-driven inlet cam, while the exhaust cam directly drove an alternator on the rear of the head. It produced at 9000 rpm. This engine dominated the category until 1971, and was also used in sports car racing in 1.8 Litre form as the "FVC".
The cylinder head on the FVA pioneered many of Duckworth's ideas that would be used on the DFV and a mule for the eight-cylinder engine development, FVB, was built. However, the distance between the two camshafts and the valve inclination angle were larger than on DFV for the series.
The larger displacement FVD was designed and released for endurance racing in 1975, that displaced on the aluminium block developed for BDG. The FVD produced only , down from the that other twin-cam four cylinders such as the Hart 420S produced but was more reliable. One was campaigned in the CanAm series in 1978 in the Osprey SR-1, built and driven by Dan Hartill.
The DFV (Double Four Valve)
In 1966, Colin Chapman
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars.
In 1952 he founded the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman ...
(Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics.
Lotus was previously involved in Formula One r ...
founder and principal of Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. More ...
) persuaded Ford to bankroll Keith Duckworth's design for a new lightweight 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, ...
engine. Cosworth received the order along with the £100,000 that Ford felt it adequate to spend on such an objective. The contract stipulated that a four-cylinder Ford-based F2 engine would be developed as proof of concept (see the FVA above) and that a pure Cosworth V8 would be built based on this.
The DFV design used a similar cylinder head
In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head (often abbreviated to simply "head") sits above the cylinders and forms the roof of the combustion chamber.
In sidevalve engines, the head is a simple sheet of metal; whereas in more modern ov ...
to the one Duckworth had prototyped on the four-cylinder FVB unit on a custom Cosworth cylinder block
In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure which contains the cylinders and other components. In an early automotive engine, the engine block consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attac ...
and crankcase
In a piston engine, the crankcase is the housing that surrounds the crankshaft. In most modern engines, the crankcase is integrated into the engine block.
Two-stroke engines typically use a crankcase-compression design, resulting in the fuel/a ...
, forming a single 90° 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 us ...
, thus creating a legend in its own right, the DFV – meaning " Double Four Valve". This engine and its derivatives were used for a quarter of a century, and it was the most successful in the history of 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, ...
/ Grand Prix motor racing
Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car an ...
. Winning 167 races in a career lasting over 20 years, it was the product that put Cosworth Engineering on the map. Although originally designed for Formula One, the engine has been modified to be used in a range of categories.
The DFV won on its first outing, at the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix
The Dutch Grand Prix ( nl, Grote Prijs van Nederland) is a Formula One motor racing event held at Circuit Zandvoort, North Holland, the Netherlands, from 1950 to 1985 and from 2021 onwards. It was a part of the World Championship from 1952, ...
in the hands of Jim Clark
James Clark Jr. OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. A versatile driver, he competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapol ...
, fitted to a Lotus
Lotus may refer to:
Plants
*Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly:
** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae
**Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...
49, and from 1968 was available for purchase to any F1 team that wished it. During the 1970s, it was common for almost the entire field (with the notable exception of 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 ...
) to use one of these engines – this at a time when independent wealthy individuals could buy exactly the same engine off the shelf that was also being 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 Formul ...
et al. Most teams just built a tub around a Cosworth DFV and a Hewland
Hewland is a British engineering company, founded in 1957 by Mike Hewland, which specialises in racing-car gearboxes. Hewland currently employ 130 people at their Maidenhead facility and have diversified into a variety of markets being particul ...
gearbox
Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...
. It won a record 155 World Championship races, the last being Detroit in 1983, powering a Tyrrell driven by 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 spo ...
.
Although the DFV (bore: , stroke: , displacement: ) with at 9,000 rpm did not produce as much power as some of its rival 12-cylinder engines, it was lighter, resulting in a better power to weight
Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measuremen ...
ratio. In addition to being lighter, it was also made a structural part of the car itself, by placing load bearing arms to stress the block. These design aspects appealed tremendously to the genius of Colin Chapman who used them to the fullest extent.
The DFY, introduced in 1982 was a further evolution of the DFV for Formula One, with a shorter stroke and a DFL bore (bore: , stroke: , displacement ) with at 11,000 rpm, thereby producing more power, but still unable to fight against the turbocharged cars of the day. It was the advent of turbocharged
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 pro ...
engines in Formula One which sounded the death knell for the venerable DFV, and in 1986 Cosworth returned to the lower formulae preparing the DFV for the newly created Formula 3000
Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines.
Formula 3000 championships
...
, with the installation of a compulsory 9,000 rpm rev limiter, which scaled power back from 500 to ; the DFV remained in this class until 1992 and the DFY until 1995. By this time the Cosworth AC V8 replaced the DFV/Y in F3000 and was the dominant engine in the class until it became a spec-series in 1996 using a Zytek-Judd V8. The final F3000 engines gave , almost equalling the 1983 DFV which gave at 11,200 rpm.
In Formula One, a new DFV-based design was introduced for the new normally aspirated rules in 1987. The DFZ was produced as an interim model, but in 1988 Cosworth created the DFV's final evolution, the DFR, which soldiered on in F1 with smaller teams until 1991, scoring its last points – including a pair of second places by Jean Alesi
Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French professional racing driver of Italian origin. After successes in minor categories, notably winning the 1989 Formula 3000 Championship, his Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, ...
– with Tyrrell in 1990.
The DFV has recently been given a new lease of life as a result of interest in Classic F1 racing, which was given a World Championship status by the FIA in 2004.
DFV variants
The DFV spawned a number of derivations. In 1968; Cosworth created the DFV's first derivation, a version for theTasman Series
The Tasman Series (formally the Tasman Championship for Drivers)Tasman Championship for Drivers, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport with National Competition Rules 1974, pages 80 to 83 was a motor racing competition held annually from 1964 to 1975 ove ...
, the DFW. DFV to DFW conversion simply involved substitution of a short-stroke crank and longer connecting rods.
One of the most successful and longest-lived projects of Cosworth has been its CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
/ Champ Car
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...
engine programme. In 1975; Cosworth developed the DFX, by destroking the engine to and adding a turbocharger
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 pro ...
, the DFX became the standard engine to run in IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
racing, ending the reign of the Offenhauser
The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers.
History
The Offenhauser engine, familiarly ...
, and maintaining that position until the late 1980s. Ford backed Cosworth with creating a new interim design for IndyCar racing in the late 1980s, the DFS, which merged DFR technology into the ageing DFX design, but it was eventually rendered obsolete by advancing technology.
While designed as an F1 engine, the DFV was also used as in endurance racing, although its flat-plane crank design led to destructive vibrations putting stress on devices surrounding the engine, especially the exhaust system. The first sports car to use a DFV, the 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 Weybridge, ...
, failed to finish a single race because of repeated mechanical and electrical failures. Despite this handicap the DFV won 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 racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
twice in its original 3.0 Litre form for Mirage and Rondeau, who were able to attain sufficient reliability by de-tuning the motor.
The DFL for endurance racing was developed for the 1982 season to replace the DFV. It came in two versions: one with and the other with . While neither competed well in the Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...
(C1 Class) the former was adapted to the C2 Class (700 kg minimum weight, 55 Litres fuel, 5 refuelings/1000 km) starting in 1984. During the latter half of the 1980s it was the most popular motor for that class, with successful championship campaigns and five class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The latter version's severe lack of reliability caused it to fall out of use by 1985.
The BDA series
Cosworth solidified its association with Ford in 1969, by developing a double overhead camshaft
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
(DOHC) 16-valve inline four-cylinder engine for road use in the Ford Escort. As Keith Duckworth was busy designing and developing the DFV, the project was assigned to Mike Hall, who created the 1601 cc BDA on the Ford Kent engine
The Ford Kent is an internal combustion engine from Ford of Europe. Originally developed in 1959 for the Ford Anglia, it is an in-line four-cylinder pushrod engine with a cast-iron cylinder head and block.
The Kent family can be divided into t ...
block for homologation
Homologation (Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work fr ...
purposes. The camshafts were driven by a toothed belt
A toothed belt; timing belt; cogged belt; cog belt; or synchronous belt is a flexible belt with teeth moulded onto its inner surface. Toothed belts are usually designed to run over matching toothed pulleys or sprockets. Toothed belts are used in ...
developed for Fiat 124
The Fiat 124 is a small family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat between 1966 and 1974. The saloon superseded the Fiat 1300 and was the basis for several variants including a station wagon, a four-seater coupé ( 124 Sport Cou ...
, hence the name BDA, literally meaning "Belt Drive, A type". It was designed for FIA Group 2 and Group 4 on either rallying
Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...
or touring car racing
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.
While the cars do not move ...
purpose. The nominal homologation at 1601 cc capacity meant that BDA-engined cars competed in what was usually the top class (1600 cc and up) so were eligible for overall victories rather than class wins.
In 1970, the 1701 cc BDB was created for the Escort RS1600, and this engine received fuel injection
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All comp ...
for the first time in the series as 1701 cc BDC. Two years later, the BDA series was adopted for Formula 2
Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name return ...
; first came the 1790 cc BDE, then the 1927 cc BDF eventually reaching a maximum of 1975 cc BDG in 1973. As the bore size reached ever closer to the bore centre distance, leaving little space in between cylinders, all three types had brazed-in cylinder liners to the block. As a departure from the Ford iron block, the BDG received a new aluminium block (originally designed by Brian Hart
Brian Roger Hart (7 September 1936 – 5 January 2014) was a British racing driver and engineer with a background in the aviation industry. He is best known as the founder of Brian Hart Limited, a company that developed and built engines for mot ...
in 1971 and re-engineered by Cosworth) soon after, and this cylinder block was used as a replacement part in rebuilding many other BD series engines as well as some Mk.XIII engines.
The iron block was also used for smaller displacements; starting with the very successful 1599 cc Formula Atlantic
Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club o ...
BDD in 1970, followed by the 1098 cc BDJ and 1300 cc BDH variants for SCCA
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...
Formula C and sports car racing, respectively. There was even a one-off 785 cc version built by Cosworth employees Paul Squires and Phil Kidsley; fitted with a Lysholm supercharger it was installed in a Brabham BT28 Formula 3 chassis and competed in the British Hill Climb Championship
The British Hill Climb Championship (BHCC) is the most prestigious Hillclimbing championship in Great Britain. Hillclimbing in the British Isles has a rich history, for example, the hillclimb held at Shelsley Walsh, in Worcestershire, England is th ...
as the Brabham-Lysholm.
In 1970, Ford asked Weslake and Co of Rye, East Sussex
is a small town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederatio ...
to build the BDD for them, and by the end of 1970, the production line was installed at Rye and production was under way. These engines were often called the 'BDA', but were 1599 cc BDDs eligible for under 1.6 Litre class.
The 1599 cc BDD engine won a number of championships around the world in Formula Atlantic and Formula Pacific during the 1980s.
In 1975, 1599 cc big valve BDM (225 bhp) was developed with fuel injection for Formula Atlantic, and a 'sealed engine' version BDN (1599 cc, 210 bhp) followed in 1977 for Canadian Formula Atlantic series.
Largely known as 'Cosworth BDA', BDD and BDM were also very successful in Formula Pacific Formula Pacific was a motor racing category which was used in the Pacific Basin area from 1977 to 1982. It specified a single-seat, open-wheeler chassis powered by a production-based four-cylinder engine of under 1600cc capacity. The formula was bas ...
and Formula Mondial Formula Mondial was an international motor racing category which was introduced to replace both Formula Atlantic and the similar Formula Pacific''The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring'', 1986, page 171 in 1983.''Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1982 ...
racing in Australia and New Zealand. In open wheel racing, Cosworth powered cars (Ralt RT4
The Ralt RT4 is an open-wheel formula racing car, designed, developed and built by Ralt, for Formula Atlantic (and was also occasionally raced in Formula Two categories), in 1980. It was later converted into a closed-wheel prototype, and used in t ...
and Tiga's) won Australian Drivers' Championship
The Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing championship contested annually from 1957 to 2014 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor ...
in 1982–1986 as well as winning the Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...
in 1981–1984 (including wins by Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Mich ...
and Roberto Moreno
Roberto Pupo Moreno (born 11 February 1959), usually known as Roberto Moreno and also as Pupo Moreno, is a Brazilian former auto racing, racing driver. He participated in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 15 c ...
) before the race became part of the Formula One World Championship in 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, and won the New Zealand Grand Prix
The New Zealand Grand Prix, sometimes known as the New Zealand International Grand Prix, is an annual motor racing event held in New Zealand. First held in 1950, it is best known for hosting rounds of the Tasman Series in the 1960s and 1970s. It ...
each year from 1982 to 1988. BDD and BDM engines were also prominent in the Australian Sports Car Championship
The Australian Sports Car Championship was the national title for sports car racing drivers sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport from 1969 to 1988. Each championship was contested over a series of races with the exception of ...
during the 1980s, winning the 1987 championship.
The turbo charged 1778 cc BDT was created in 1981, which powered the never-raced RWD Escort RS1700T. In 1984, 4WD Ford RS200
The Ford RS200 is a mid-engined, four-wheel drive sports car that was produced by Ford Motorsport in Boreham, UK, from 1984 to 1986. The road-going RS200 was the basis for Ford's Group B rally car and was designed to comply with FIA homologation ...
debuted with a 1803 cc version of BDT, which was created for Group B
Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...
rallying. Between 1984 and 1986 the BDT engine was used in Group C endurance racing by Roy Baker, in class C2 using the Tiga GC284, GC285 and GC286. Later in 1986, a 2137 cc version was created by Brian Hart
Brian Roger Hart (7 September 1936 – 5 January 2014) was a British racing driver and engineer with a background in the aviation industry. He is best known as the founder of Brian Hart Limited, a company that developed and built engines for mot ...
using a bespoke aluminium block and a large intercooler
An intercooler is a heat exchanger used to cool a gas after compression. Often found in turbocharged engines, intercoolers are also used in air compressors, air conditioners, refrigeration and gas turbines.
Internal combustion engines
Mo ...
for RS200 Evolution, just as Group B was cancelled by the FIA. This BDT-E ('E' for Evolution) produced over in Group B ' rallycross' boost level, normally producing on a lower but sustainable boost.
In 1983, the BD series saw its second road engine incarnation (the first being the original BDA and BDB), the BDR, which was a BDA or BDB sold in kit form for the Caterham Super Seven
The Lotus Seven is a small, simple, lightweight, two-seater, open-top, open-wheel, sports car produced by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars (initially called Lotus Engineering) between 1957 and 1972.
It was designed by Lotus founder Colin Chap ...
in 1601 cc (120 bhp) and in 1701 cc (130 bhp) formats.
The Hart
Hart often refers to:
* Hart (deer)
Hart may also refer to:
Organizations
* Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer
* Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer
* Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores
* Hart's Reptile W ...
420R and the Zakspeed
Zakspeed () is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and after that run by his son Peter Zakowski. It is based in Niederzissen, Rhineland-Palatinate, around from the Nürburgring circuit.
1973 to 1981: Saloon and s ...
F1 engines owe much to the BDA series, being essentially an aluminium-block derivative using similar heads.
The GA/GAA V6
A fuel-injected belt-driven DOHC GA (also called the GAA) was based on the 60 degree V6 block of Ford Essex, and was used for the Ford Capri
The Ford Capri is a fastback coupé built by Ford of Europe, designed by Philip T. Clark, who was also involved in the design of the Ford Mustang. It used the mechanical components from the Mk2 Ford Cortina and was intended as the Euro ...
s raced in Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to:
* Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification
* Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962
* Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in a ...
in the early 1970s. This had a capacity of , and was highly competitive against the BMW straight-sixes. The GA was also used in the later years of Formula 5000
Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...
in Europe.
The GA or GAA was commissioned by Ford in May 1972, when Ford realised that the Cologne V6 based Weslake OHV V6 engines used in their Capris which competed in the European Touring Car Championship had been modified to the point that no more performance could be extracted from them. Mike Hall, who had already designed the highly successful Cosworth DFV and BDA engines, took on the task of developing a whole new engine based on the 3-Litre Essex V6 block.
The new engine was radically different from the previously-used Weslake unit in that it featured twin overhead camshaft aluminium alloy cylinder heads, 4 valves per cylinder, a Lucas mechanical fuel injection system, dry sump oiling system, a steel crankshaft, and enlarged displacement of 3412cc, compared with the 2.9 litres of the previously used Cologne V6 based Weslake V6.
Ford expected a minimum of 400 Hp from the new Cosworth engine; that figure was exceeded, with the engine producing 420 Hp in the first test run. In race tune they finally produced around 462 bhp (345 kW; 468 PS) at 9000 rpm and 300 ft-lb of torque (407 Nm). This meant that the new engine proved highly successful at competing against BMW in the 1973 Season of the European Touring Car Championship where the engine was installed in Ford's newly homologated Capri RS 3100.
Ford Motorsport also sold 100 Cosworth GA V6 engines, most of them ending up in Formula 5000 cars.
The GA/GAA V6 is a very rare, and extremely expensive engine, with rebuilt units priced at £50,000.
The FBA and FBC V6
The FBA and FBC engines were found in the Ford Granada and Ford Scorpio
The Ford Scorpio is an executive car that was produced by Ford Europe from 1985 to 1998. It was the replacement for the European Ford Granada line (although in the UK and Ireland the Scorpio was marketed under the Granada name until 1994). Li ...
. The FBA came first in 1991 and was also known as the 'BOA'; it was based on the Ford Cologne V6
The original Ford Cologne V6 is a series of 60° cast iron block V6 engines produced continuously by the Ford Motor Company in Cologne, Germany, since 1965. Along with the British Ford Essex V6 engine and the U.S. Buick V6 and GMC Truck V6, t ...
used in the Ford Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a mid-size car or large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford Europe from 1982-1993, designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément — and noted for its aerodynamic styling producing a drag coefficien ...
and Ford Capri
The Ford Capri is a fastback coupé built by Ford of Europe, designed by Philip T. Clark, who was also involved in the design of the Ford Mustang. It used the mechanical components from the Mk2 Ford Cortina and was intended as the Euro ...
and other models and was a twin overhead camshaft 24valve conversion for more power, producing and better idle quality.
In 1995, with a new version of the Scorpio, it was upgraded with a wider torque spread and higher power – to , from a variable intake system and reprofiled cams. The NVH was improved with a change from a single chain to drive all four camshafts – to one chain to drive one bank of cams and a second for the other bank; this engine was known as the 'BOB'.
A racing version was also available for a short time – FBE – with an individual throttle butterfly for each cylinder.
FBB and FBD engines existed as development engines but these were never released.
The two production engines were always mated to an automatic gearbox but have become popular in the custom car scene where they have been mated to the 4x4 manual transmission and the rear-wheel-drive manual transmission from the Ford Sierra XR4 and XR4x4. There are also companies that offer twin and single turbo conversions, and other modifications to increase power to usually around . These engines can be bought relatively cheaply and, providing they are well serviced, engines have been known to cover over 200,000 miles without major work being required.
The YB series
The YB series of engines are based on the older inline-4 Ford T88 engine block, and were introduced in the road-going Ford Sierra RS Cosworth in 1986 with . With 5,000 units built for homologation purposes in Group A, both for rallies and touring cars. Racing versions of the RS Cosworth were developing around , but with the small Garrett T3 turbo on the cars reliability was a problem. A limited edition evolution model was introduced in mid-1987, the Ford Sierra RS500, Sierra RS500 which included a bigger T4 turbo, with power initially at around the mark in 1987, but in later years climbing to close to some in full racing trim.
The RS500 came to dominate touring car racing
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.
While the cars do not move ...
in its heyday from 1987 to 1992, winning multiple championships and major races in Europe including the European Touring Car Championship, ETCC, British Touring Car Championship, Britain and Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, DTM (German), as well as Japanese Touring Car Championship, Japan, Australian Touring Car Championship, Australia and New Zealand Touring Car Championship, New Zealand. This included wins in the five major races, the Spa 24 Hours held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama Circuit, Mount Panorama in Australia, the RAC Tourist Trophy at Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone in England, the Wellington 500 street race in New Zealand, and the InterTEC 500 at Fuji Speedway, Fuji in Japan. The only car to truly challenge the Sierra's dominance towards the end of the Group A era in 1990–1992 was the , 4WD twin turbo Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R.
At the end of its life in Group A in 1992, the Australian Sierra teams were reportedly getting around from the 2.0L turbocharged YB engines. For his pole position lap at the 1992 Bathurst 1000, Australian driver Dick Johnson (racing driver), Dick Johnson (whose Dick Johnson Racing, team since 1988 had a reputation for having the fastest Sierras in Group A racing anywhere in the world) was reportedly running a special qualifying engine that was producing close to in his RS500.
The various colour cam covers that distinguished each version were as follows: Red: YBB (Sierra Cosworth 2wd, both 3-door and Sapphire), YBD (Sierra RS500), YBJ (Sierra Sapphire 4wd, non cat); Green: YBG (catalyst equipped 4x4 Sierra Sapphire Cosworth); Blue: YBT (large-turbo Escort Cosworth); Silver: YBP (small-turbo Escort Cosworth).
Further evolutions of the YB included a reduced-emissions road version, as well as the block used in the Ford Escort RS Cosworth, Escort RS Cosworth (which used the Sierra floorpan). The engine stopped being used on new cars in 1997, with the Ford Focus (International), Focus WRC and road-going Focus RS instead relying on Ford Zetec, Zetec designs.
The GBA V6
Cosworth experimented withturbocharged
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 pro ...
BD derivatives, before settling on an all-new turbocharged V6 engine to be badged as the Ford TEC (internally it was known as the GB-series). This had a long development history dating back to the 1984 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch where Cosworth and Ford of Europe, Ford's competition department agreed to build a new turbo engine to replace the outdated DFV / DFY series. The TEC raced only briefly, in , with the Haas Lola team and in with the Benetton Formula, Benetton team. The development of the GBA engine at Cosworth became the subject of a British TV documentary in Channel Four's ''Equinox (TV programme), Equinox'' series, broadcast in 1986.
The GBA was designed by Keith Duckworth and Geoff Goddard, though many in Formula One doubted Duckworth's ability to design another truly competitive engine due to his known distaste for turbocharging in general. Rather than design an entirely new engine, Duckworth instead chose to originally try and develop an old, modified Straight 4, 4 cylinder BDA sports car engine as he believed 4 cylinder engines were more compact and economical than a V6 (Cosworth's chief race engine designer Geoff Goddard was against the idea of the straight 4, but reluctantly let Duckworth go down that path). However, after numerous failures of the test engines on the dynamometer which were eventually traced to an incurable vibration at the crankshaft, Duckworth and Goddard designed an all new 120° V6 engine instead, the same configuration as 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 ...
V6 turbo engine used from 1981 to 1986. The BDA engine was originally limited to 10,000 RPM in sports car racing, but with a turbo its failures generally happened at around 11,000 RPM. The first 4-cylinder test engine was so badly damaged that it actually changed the shape of the engine block to the point where the crankshaft would not move- the engine was simply not designed to be turbocharged. As around 4 months had been lost in trying to get the 4 cylinder engine to work, Ford and Cosworth's plan for the engine to debut with Haas Lola in was pushed back to the 1986 season.
The GBA engine was first road tested by Haas Lola's lead driver, World Champion Alan Jones (racing driver), Alan Jones in the new Lola THL2 at the Boreham Circuit in Essex just north-east of London on 21 February 1986. In freezing, snowy conditions (−6° Celsius) at approximately 10 AM, the V6 turbo, running a conservative 2.5 BAR boost setting, ran cleanly although the engine management electronics developed by Motorola in the United States and Cosworth had not yet been finalised and the engine ran with the same electronics that were used on the dynamometer. Also present at the test were Duckworth, Goddard, the THL2's designer Neil Oatley, the teams #2 driver Patrick Tambay and other staff from both Haas Lola, Ford and Cosworth.
The engine made its Formula One debut with Jones driving the Lola THL2 at the 1986 San Marino Grand Prix, the third round of the 1986 season (for the opening two races in 1986 Brazilian Grand Prix, Brazil and 1986 Spanish Grand Prix, Spain, the team used their 1985 car, the Hart Racing Engines, Hart 415-T turbo powered Lola THL1, while Tambay also drove the THL1 at Imola). Jones qualified in 21st place and retired after 28 of the races 60 laps due to overheating. Jones also recorded the engine's first finish when he placed 11th in the 1986 Belgian Grand Prix, Belgian Grand Prix. Jones and teammate Patrick Tambay captured the Ford V6 turbo's first ever points when they finished 4th and 5th respectively in the 1986 Austrian Grand Prix, Austrian Grand Prix, with Jones backing up in the next race in 1986 Italian Grand Prix, Italy with a 6th-placed finish, the final points the engine would gain in 1986.
Producing approximately , the turbocharged V6 is the most powerful Formula One engine designed and built by Cosworth. With Haas Lola not competing in 1987, Benetton, having lost the use of the 4 cylinder BMW M12, BMW engines when the German giant pulled out of Formula One, signed with Ford to race their V6 for the season. While in 1986 turbo boost had been unrestricted by the rules, 1987 saw the FIA introduce the pop-off valve to the turbocharged engines in a two-year plan to outlaw the turbos and make all Formula One engines 3.5 litres and naturally aspirated by the start of the season. While Cosworth adapted the TEC to 1987's 4.0 Bar turbo limit and the new 195 litre fuel limit, development of the V6 turbo engine which would be obsolete in less than two years virtually stopped. Cosworth instead worked on the DFR V8 that was introduced with Benetton in .
With the reduction in turbo boost limit not affecting the Ford V6 as much as others such as Honda F1, Honda, BMW and Ferrari which had more horsepower to lose, the turbo engine would be more competitive with Benetton in 1987, with Teo Fabi taking the engine's first podium with third in 1987 Austrian Grand Prix, Austria, followed by its last podium when Thierry Boutsen also scored third in the last race of the season in 1987 Australian Grand Prix, Australia.
The HB V8
The HB DFV/DFZ/DFR replacement was designed by Geoff Goddard as a (96 mm x 60.4 mm) V8, introduced with the Benetton team midway through 1989, making its debut at the 1989 French Grand Prix, French Grand Prix. It won the Japanese Grand Prix that year (Benetton used both the original HBA1 and the development HBA4 in 1989). As Ford's de facto works team, Benetton maintained exclusivity with this model through the rest of 1989 and . saw the introduction of customer units, two specifications behind their works equivalents. In 1991, these were supplied to the fledgling Jordan Grand Prix outfit, and for 1992, Lotus. saw the customer deal extended toMcLaren
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 Formul ...
who had lost the use of their Honda F1, Honda V12 engine
A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines.
The fi ...
s after 1992. Using the customer HBA7 (and later a customer HBA8), McLaren won five Grands Prix with triple World Champion Ayrton Senna that year.
The HBA1 V8 was introduced in 1989. It exploited a narrower 75° vee-angle rather than the 90° used in the DFV series, and was originally rated at approximately . By 1993, the factory HBA8 V8 engine used by Benetton was producing approximately at 13,000 rpm. Although the HB V8 was less powerful than the V10 engine, V10s and V12s used by rivals Renault F1, Renault, Honda, 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 ...
, its advantage was that it was lighter and gave better fuel economy.
A Jaguar-badged version of the HB was developed by Tom Walkinshaw Racing to the tune of 650 bhp at 11,500 rpm for sports car racing, fitted to the extremely successful Jaguar XJR-14.
The EC, ECA, ED, EDM and ED 2/4 V8
The HB was developed into the (100 mm x 55.7 mm) EC V8 for the 1994 season. This engine, producing about 740 bhp @ 14,500rpm, was badged as Ford Zetec-R, and Michael Schumacher won the list of Formula One World Drivers' Champions, Drivers' World Championship with Benetton (his first of a record 7 championships), in . This was the last Ford-powered F1 title. For the 1995 Formula One World Championship, 1995 season, the F1 engine regulation changed to 3 litres, and the EC's bore and stroke were changed to 94mm x 53.9mm, resulting in ECA, which was introduced at about 600 bhp, and developed to 610 to 630 bhp at 14,000rpm. It was exclusively used by the Sauber team, whose biggest success of the year was Heinz-Harald Frentzen's third place at 1995 Italian Grand Prix, Monza. Customer unit Cosworth ED (not badged as Ford Zetec-R) for non-works teams was also made for 1995 with about 580 bhp for Simtek (called the EDB), Pacific Racing (EDC) and Forti (EDD) teams. Minard continued with Magneti Marelli engine management as per their HB in 1994, this version having the Cosworth designation EDM. At the first test with the EDM, Luca Badoer reported that this engine felt less powerful then the 3 litre 9000rpm rev limited engine he had used to win the F3000 championship in 1992. Cosworth later updated the ED to ED 2/4 for Tyrrell and Lola Cars, Lola with (94mm x 53.95mm) displacement for 600 bhp, which was used until the end of season.The JD, VJ and VJM V10
In order to produce a higher power at higher rpm, a completely new (89mm x 48.1mm) JD 72° V10 was designed for 1996, which produced about 670 bhp at 15,800 rpm, and used by SauberFormula 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, ...
team. This engine was further developed into VJ and VJM with the same V-angle, bore and stroke, reaching 720 bhp for racing, and 730 bhp for qualifying, at 16,500 rpm. All three of these engines were badged as Ford Zetec-R as well, and used by several teams. In its debut season, the best result was another third place, this time taken by Johnny Herbert at 1996 Monaco Grand Prix, Monaco. This was surpassed one year later by Rubens Barichello's sensational second place, again at 1997 Monaco Grand Prix, Monaco, which was the first points finish for the newly formed Stewart Grand Prix team.
Further Formula One engines
The Stewart Grand Prix team effectively became the Ford works team, and used Cosworth CR-1 engines from its first season in 1997, which was a much lighter version of VJM, ultimately reaching 770 bhp at 16,500 rpm by 2001. Over the next few years Ford had increased its involvement with the Stewart team, and finally bought the team, renaming it Jaguar Racing for 2000. Ford pulled out of F1 at the end of 2004, but the team (bought by and renamed Red Bull Racing) continued to use Cosworth V10 engines until switching to a Ferrari V8 for 2006. Minardi also used re-badged Cosworth engines until 2005. Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams began testing the new CA2006 2.4-litre V8 in November 2005, which produced about 755 bhp @ 19,250 rpm (314.7 hp/L), and began using CosworthV8 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 us ...
s for the 2006 season. In the same year, Scuderia Toro Rosso used detuned V10 engines based on the 2005 units.
In 2007, however, the company was left without a partner when Williams chose to switch to Toyota F1, Toyota power, and Scuderia Toro Rosso made the switch to 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 ...
engines (as used in 2006 by their mother team Red Bull Racing).
In Max Mosley's letter following the withdrawal of Honda from Formula One in December 2008, it was announced that Cosworth had won the tender to provide a standard engine to any interested participants. The new engine would become the standard design and manufacturers could opt to use whole units, construct their own from designs provided by Cosworth, or produce their own engine with the caveat that it be limited to the same power as the new "standard" engine.
In 2010 Cosworth returned as the engine supplier for Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams and three new teams; HRT Formula 1 Team, Hispania Racing, Team Lotus (2010–11), Lotus Racing and Virgin Racing. The CA2010 is the same 2.4-litre V8 base of the CA2006 used by Williams, but has been re-tuned for the then-mandated 18,000 rpm limit required on all engines, down from its original 20,000 rpm implementation. First units were ready and shipped to teams in mid-January for fitting 2 weeks prior to first track testing for the year.
Other IndyCar and Champ Car engines
Cosworth designed a series of replacements for the DFS to be used in IndyCar and Champ Car
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...
racing: the X-series, beginning in 1992 with the XB. The XF was developed for the 2000 season to replace the XD, and was chosen as the spec engine for the Champ Car World Series in 2003. The most recent derivative of the XF, the XFE quad-cam 90° V8 overhead camshaft, continued in that role through the 2007 season. The Champ Car World Series imposed a rev limit of 12,000 rpm down from the over 15,000 rpm of 2002. The 2004 model of the XFE had a rated power of nominal at 1,054 mmHg (intake boost pressure), and a maximum power of at 1130 mmHg (during Push-to-Pass). The 2004 XFE maximum speed was 12,000 rpm (rev limited) and torque of . The aluminium and iron turbo housing ran a boost of 5.9 pounds per square inch, psi at sea level (= boost of 12 inches of mercury which is 41.5 inches of mercury absolute). The Methanol-fuelled engine used a steel crankshaft and aluminium alloy pistons. Weight was and length was .
In 2007, the Ford name was removed from the engine pieces as the manufacturer elected not to continue sponsorship of the series. Several other engine changes were made, notably the removal of the calibrated "pop off valve" designed to limit turbo boost pressure, replaced by engine electronics. The rated life of the engine was between rebuilds. Engines were sent by the race teams to Cosworth for the rebuild. In 2007, Champ Car switched to the new Panoz DP01 chassis, which was said to provide better ducting of airflow into the engine. The Champ Car World Series merged into the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series prior to the 2008 season, and Cosworth does not currently provide engines to any American open wheel racing series.
There is evidence that Cosworth was working on a push-rod V8 along the lines of the Ilmor/Mercedes 500I to exploit the peculiar loophole in the Indianapolis 500 rules on the definition of the word "pushrod engine", permitting such engines with extremely short pushrods higher turbocharger
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 pro ...
boost – this was assigned a project code CD but seemingly never completed.
In mid-2003, Cosworth provided the 3.5 L V8 XG badged as a Chevrolet Gen 4 engine to IRL IndyCar Series teams after the proprietary Chevrolet Gen 3 engine proved inadequate against rival Hondas and Toyotas during the 2003 season. While many teams left Chevrolet after the 2003 season, those that stayed saw a significant improvement in performance with the new "Chevworth" engine compared to their previous units. The XG finished second in its first race at Michigan on July 27, 2003. Sam Hornish, Jr. went on to win 3 races that season with the new XG. The XG was reduced in size to 3 L for 2004 season and it won one race in 2005 during Chevrolet's final season in IRL.
Other Formula Atlantic engines
Currently these are inline-four engines based on the Mazda MZR engine developed in cooperation with Mazda. Changes includes a billet crankshaft, barrel throttle bodies, new cylinder head with larger valves, pistons, con rods and camshafts. A detuned version, targeting club racers, is sold to the consumer market. This engine retains the standard crankshaft, and has a different cylinder head. Both engines are built by Cosworth in Torrance, California, under the guidance of newly appointed technical designer Wayne Merry (formerly of Cosworth in Worcester UK).Other road engines
Best known in Europe for its relationship with Ford – in particular because of the Cosworth name in the vehicle title on the high-performance Ford Sierra RS Cosworth and Ford Escort RS Cosworth, but also in the creation of other Ford models; the Ford Escort RS1600, Escort RS1600, Ford Escort RS1800, Escort RS1800, Ford RS200, RS200, and Ford Scorpio, Scorpio 2.9i 24V.
In the US, the name has also appeared in the title of a road car (well before it did in Europe) as the Cosworth version of the Chevrolet Cosworth Vega, Chevrolet Vega. Only 3,508 1975 and 1976 Cosworth Vegas were produced from March 1975 through 1976. The engine features the Vega sleeveless, aluminium-alloy block fitted with forged components. The twin-cam, 16-valve, aluminium cylinder head design was assisted by Cosworth, but Chevrolet did the development work. The engine features electronic ignition, Bendix Corporation, Bendix electronic fuel injection#Electronic, electronic fuel injection, and stainless steel headers. The final US emissions standardised version produces 110 bhp. Cosworth's EA racing version was not successful due to engine block structural failures. Chevrolet later produced a heavy-duty 'off-road' block with thicker walls to better withstand the racing application, but by that time Cosworth had moved on. Projected first year sales of the Cosworth Vega had been 5,000. With only 3,508 cars produced and many unsold, the car was discontinued. 1,500 hand-built Cosworth Vega engines were simply scrapped for lack of demand.
Other published projects for Adam Opel AG include the Opel Ascona, Opel Ascona 400 / Opel Manta, Manta 400 rally cars and the 2.0L 16V engines in the Opel Kadett, Opel Astra GSi, Opel Vectra and Opel Calibra turbo.
Other companies known to have benefitted from the Cosworth engineering input are Mercedes-Benz (with the 190 E 2.3-16) and Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
Th ...
(notably their Audi S and RS models, RS cars).
Cosworth's involvement with Mercedes-Benz came with moves in the mid-1980s from the German manufacturer to re-enter motorsport after retiring from direct factory participation after the 1955 Le Mans disaster, 1955 Le Mans crash which killed 80 spectators. Mercedes-Benz was looking to create a Group B
Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...
rally car out of its new Mercedes-Benz W201, W201 Chassis (190E Model) and turned to the expertise of Cosworth to shorten the development time for this project.
The request was a huge surprise for Cosworth, and the original brief for a 320 bhp engine based on the 136 bhp Mercedes M102 2.3-litre SOHC 4-cylinder engine was duly passed to Mike Hall, who "drew the famed DFV and BDA engine"."Flying the Flag", Autocar 7 August 1985, pp32-33 Designed around the existing M102 head bolt pattern, the new twin cam, 16-valve, pentroof head, had its valves set at 45° included angle, rather than the 40° angle of the #BDA, BDA. The valves were the biggest that could be fitted into the combustion chamber. Flat top pistons delivered the 10.5:1 compression ratio. The new Cosworth WAA engine also was Cosworth's first one-piece head, i.e. the camshaft carrier was cast integral with the head itself. Again the constraints of the existing head-bolt pattern meant that Hall had to shift the camshaft bearings from outside each pair of camlobes as in the BDA to in between each cylinder's pair of cam lobes. The upside being that this configuration made for less flex at high rpm.
The advent of the AWD turbo Audi Quattro gave the rear-wheel-drive, normally aspirated 190E rally car no chance of being successful and the competition car was stillborn. Instead Mercedes-Benz decided to recoup its development cost by selling the car as a road going sports-sedan. Hall detuned the WAA race engine to 185 bhp by reducing the port diameters and a more restrictive fuel injection and induction was substituted for the race items to complete the detune. All WAA 2.3-16 engines were built in the Cosworth factory with the heads being produced by the Coscast method.
Cosworth assisted with the later 2.5-16 engine (WAB), and the short-stroke 2.5-16 Evo engines (WAC) although these were all manufactured in house by Mercedes-Benz. The 190E 2.3-16 became the basis for privateer Mercedes entries into the DTM from 1988. The short-stroke 2.5-16 190E EVO II was race-developed to 375+ bhp, gaining the 1992 DTM crown with Klaus Ludwig at the wheel.
A V10 designated WDA was also built and tested in a Volvo S80 in 1997, but this did not see production.
In 2020, Gordon Murray Automotive commissioned Cosworth to design and build a V12 for use in their new Gordon Murray T.50, T.50 sports car; which produces at 11,500 rpm, and of torque at 9,000 rpm.
Cosworth F1 car
Cosworth made an attempt at designing a full 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, ...
Grand Prix car in 1969. The car, designed by Robin Herd, used an original 4WD transmission designed by Keith Duckworth (different from the Ferguson Research Ltd., Ferguson used by all other 4WD F1 cars of the 1960s) and powered by a magnesium version of the DFV unit. The car was planned to drive at the 1969 British Grand Prix, but it was silently withdrawn. When Herd left to form March Engineering, the project was cancelled. The external design of the car was a product of Herd's use of Mallite sheeting (a wood-aluminium laminate composite) for the principal structural monocoque sections, a technique he pioneered on the first 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 Formul ...
single-seat cars, including the McLaren M2B of 1966.
Formula One World Championship results
Summary of F1 engine use
See also
*MAHLE Powertrain
MAHLE Powertrain Ltd is the wholly owned engineering services division of MAHLE GmbH. With its headquarters in Northampton, UK and sister company in Plymouth, Michigan, United States the company specialises in the design, development and tes ...
References
Notes
Citations
Further reading
* *External links
*List of Cosworth engine types
{{Volkswagen Group Manufacturing companies established in 1958 1958 establishments in England Companies based in Cambridge Manufacturing companies based in Northampton Ford of Europe Volkswagen Group Formula One engine manufacturers Formula One constructors IndyCar Series engine manufacturers Formula One cars that never raced Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom Cosworth