As the start of the 2015 Formula 1 season draws closer, the rumor mill again begins a crescendo of suspicion regarding aerodynamics, chassis, and of course engines. One such rumor is that the Ford Cosworth engine will once again be heard roaring throughout the hallowed circuits of Formula 1. Ford has been betting heavily on their EcoBoost line of turbocharged engines, putting them into almost every vehicle they have, including their race cars at Sebring. Therefore, it would only make sense that rumors would begin to stir that the one of the most famous engines in Formula 1 history would stage a comeback.
The engine dynasty began in 1958 in a tiny shop in London. British engineers Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth joined forces, convinced their destiny lie in designing some of the most powerful engines the racing world would ever know. They started immediately, developing a Ford 105E unit in no time with quick success. By 1960 Jim Clark was driving a Cosworth powered Lotus in a Formula Junior race at Goodwood, with a win as a result.
Jim Clark’s victory was to be the first of many for Cosworth. In 1966, Duckworth joined formally joined forces with Ford, signing a contract to design and develop a brand new three-litre Formula 1 engine. The result was the now legendary Double Four Valve (DFV) engine. The engine was the springboard for a relationship between Ford and Cosworth that would span over four decades and countless victories. It is, in fact, the most successful engine design in Formula 1 history.
The DFV engine, in one form or another, would go on to win a total of 155 Grand Prix over the next 15 years of its life. By the 1980s the DFV had been replaced by a new engine, the HB. The HB was successful in its own right, winning 11 Grand Prix in only five years. In 1994 Ford Cosworth had the Zetec V8 F1, the engine that carried Michael Schumacher to his first championship for Benetton in 1994.
In 1996 Cosworth designed a new engine for the Stewart Grand Prix team run by the legendary Jackie Stewart. The engine was a massive V10 and gave Johnny Herbert a victory in the 1999 European Grand Prix. In 2000 Ford, who had previously acquired Cosworth, also bought Stewart’s team. Cosworth continued to be their engine manufacturer, despite the team being renamed Jaguar, and the success continued.
Ford sold Cosworth in 2004 and the engine company found itself under another new owner once again. They maintained a presence in Formula 1 regardless with several teams continuing to utilize their V10 engines. By 2007 most teams had found other engine suppliers and Cosworth was effectually moved out of the sport. Now, however, as the need for affordable, powerful engines, preferably ones that are not only environmentally sound, but actually sound like an F1 engine, are in high demand the possibility of a return to Formula 1 again becomes a chance for the most successful engine company in the history of the sport.
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