Frank Costin on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Francis Albert Costin (8 June 1920 – 5 February 1995) was a British automotive engineer who advanced
Costin was an engineer with the
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
chassis
A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
design and was instrumental in adapting aircraft aerodynamic
Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
knowledge for automobile use.
Career
Costin was an engineer with the de Havilland Aircraft Company
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...
when, in 1954, his brother Mike
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...
, a former de Havilland engineer then working for Lotus Engineering Ltd., asked him to design an aerodynamic body for a new racing car. Intrigued by the idea of applying aerodynamics to racing cars, Costin designed the body for the Lotus Mark VIII
The Lotus Mark VIII car was Colin Chapman’s first fully enclosed aerodynamic design. Chapman's basic requirements for the design were for a car of 1100 lbs powered by an 85 bhp engine and a maximum speed of 125 mph. Work began o ...
. Unlike his brother, Costin was never a Lotus employee; his work there was either as a paid consultant or as a volunteer.
In 1956, when Chapman was commissioned by Tony Vandervell
Guy Anthony "Tony" Vandervell (8 September 1898 – 10 March 1967) was a British industrialist, motor racing financier, and founder of the Vanwall Formula One racing team.
Motorsport
Vandervell was the son of Charles Vandervell, founder of CAV, l ...
to design a Grand Prix racing car to challenge Maserati and Ferrari dominance of the formula, Chapman recommended Costin to Vandervell as the body designer. Costin designed the body for the Vanwall
Vanwall was a motor racing team and racing car constructor that was active in Formula One during the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall bearings ...
that won the first Grand Prix Constructors' Championship.
Later, Costin used his aeronautical knowledge to design and build a chassis from plywood. This led to a lightweight, stiff structure, which he could then clothe with an efficient, aerodynamic body, a huge advantage in the low-capacity sports car 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 is ...
of the immediate postwar period. He was also involved in a number of road car projects for various manufacturers including Lister and Lotus, where he contributed to the early aerodynamic designs; Marcos Marcos may refer to:
People with the given name ''Marcos''
*Marcos (given name)
Sports
;Surnamed
* Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century)
* Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer
* Nélson Marcos, Portug ...
, which he co-founded with Speedex
Speedex Castings and Accessories Ltd. was a company manufacturing sports car bodies between 1958 and 1962 in Luton, Bedfordshire.
It was set up by Jem Marsh who left Firestone Tyres in 1958 to manage the Luton-based ''Sporting Motorists Agency'' ...
Cars' Jem Marsh
Jeremy George Weston "Jem" Marsh (15 April 1930 – 2 March 2015) was a British engineer, motor manufacturer and race driver, born in Clifton, Bristol, Clifton, Bristol, England. He entered the motor industry through his company Speedex Castings a ...
(''MAR''sh and ''COS''tin); and racecar chassis for 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. Ma ...
, Lotus, and DTV. He also designed the Costin Amigo Costin is both a Romanian and English surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname:
* Alexandru Costin (born 1991), Moldovan footballer
*Brandon Costin, Australian rugby league player
* Darren Costin (born 1966), English ...
, the TMC Costin
The TMC Costin is a Clubman-style sports car built from 1983 to 1987 in Castlebridge, County Wexford, Republic of Ireland. Fewer than forty were produced.
History
The Thompsons of County Wexford, Ireland were a farming family with six sons. On ...
, and the Costin Sports Roadster
The Costin Sports Roadster is a lightweight mid-engined sports car that was intended for initial launch in the mid-1990s. A prototype test bed chassis was finished in 1991 at Costin Ltd in Wales.
The original Costin Cars were designed by the aer ...
. He also created an ultra-light glider with 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 a ...
, an old friend and his brother's business partner.
Personal life
In his youth, Costin had been an Olympic-standard swimmer, while in his later years he composed music.References
Further reading
*External links
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Costin, Frank British automotive engineers British automobile designers British founders of automobile manufacturers English motorsport people Formula One designers 1920 births 1995 deaths