The Unique Cosworth Story



The help of Michael Costin in this section is gratefully acknowledged.

Any remaining errors are the author’s responsibility.

Eg 47 1968 Cosworth DFV 2987cc; 415 HP @ 9,500 RPM, (see Note 75B) Eg 62 1982D Cosworth DFV - Judd; 2987cc; 515 HP @ 11,300 RPM

The Cosworth DFV ('Double Four Valve') Grand Prix engine was unique in three areas:-

Racing successes Value-for-purchasers' money Commercial return to its makers.

It is unlikely ever to be surpassed in any of these ways.

Over 16½ years, from a victorious June 1967 debut to the end of 1983, without change of bore and stroke or major castings, it powered nine men who won 12 Drivers' Championships* and five chassis makers who won 10 Constructors' Championships**. It won for its users 154 classic Grand Prix victories, 65% of the possible, competing against 10 other major engine makes with 30 substantially different specifications. (see Note 75)

The 3L normally-aspirated DFV was only displaced eventually by TurboCharged (TC) engines of 1.5L (the alternative regulation limit for pressure-charging), although a respectable argument existed that pressure-charging by that method breached a basic rule that only one engine per car was permitted. (see Note 76) The TC engines required five years of development in the Grand Prix application before they conquered the DFV finally in 1983 to win both Championships.

For ease of study these 16½ years are treated together and the Ferrari engines which interrupted the DFV's successes will be described later.

* G Hill, Stewart (3 times), Rindt, Fittipaldi (2 times), Hunt, Andretti, Jones, Piquet, Rosberg. The first and last Championships are listed in the heading above and in later details an Eg number indicates both Championships were DFV-powered except where shown as D for Drivers' only (1976 and 1982).

** Lotus (5 times), Matra, Tyrrell, McLaren, Williams (2 times).

The General Design of Racing Piston Engines



The “engineering art” of piston engine design can be summed up in three words:-

Inspiration; Calculation; Experience

and the art lies in knowing how to mix these so that the resultant engine “Breathes, Burns and Turns” efficiently and goes on turning for the required life.

Many men have designed the engines given in this review over 1906 - 2000, which covers for each racing year the selected “Car-of-the-Year” (CoY).

From 1906 to 1934 inclusive the CoY selected Is the winner of the Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France. From 1935 to 1949 inclusive the CoY is the winner of most GPs in each season. Beginning with 1950 the CoY is the mount of the winner of the Formula One Drivers’ Championship which began in that year.

If the winner of the Formula One Constructors’ Championship, which began in 1958, was different that make is also counted (shown as C).

With diffidence a list is given of those significant in the engine design and development of these selected CoY. “With diffidence” because it is extremely hard to know from the outside of an organisation and at a great time interval who was really the main driving force in any project (a notable exception is Keith Duckworth and the Ford Cosworth DFV).

At least it can be said that, if those named were not that main force, they took a large share of the responsibility. On this subject of responsibility, an anecdote dated just after WW1 may be recounted appropriately:-

someone asked the retired Marshal Joffre (French Commander-in-Chief 1911 – 1916) the tactless question “Which General really won the Battle of the Marne”? (a 1914 turning-point of WW1 in favour of the French, the conception of which was much disputed). His reply was “I do not know who won that battle but, had it been lost, I know who would have been blamed!”

With the reservation mentioned

the designers

portraits

1906 Louis Renault Renault

Renault 1907 Unknown FIAT.

FIAT. 1908, 1914 Paul Daimler

Mercedes.

Mercedes. 1912,1913 Ernest Henry Peugeot

Peugeot 1921 Frederick Duesenberg (RHS) with Augie Duesenberg.

Duesenberg. 1922 Guilio Cappa FIAT.

FIAT. 1923 Walter Becchia & Vincenzo Bertarione Sunbeam.

Sunbeam. 1924, 1932, 1934

Vittorio Jano Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo 1925 Charles Planchon &



1925,1927 with Albert Lory Delage

Delage 1926,1928 to 1931 Ettore Bugatti Bugatti

Bugatti 1933 Ernesto Maserati Maserati.

Maserati. 1935 Hans Nibel & Albert Heess Mercedes-Benz.

Mercedes-Benz. 1936 Ferdinand Porsche , Karl Rabe (above), & Josef Kales Auto Union.

Auto Union. 1937, 1938, 1939,

Fritz Nallinger & Albert Heess,

Development: Rudolf Uhlenhaut Mercedes-Benz.

Mercedes-Benz. 1948 Gioachino Colombo &

1948, 1950, 1951 with Orazio Satta Alfa Romeo.

Alfa Romeo. 1949 Gioachino Colombo (below RHS) 1952, 1953 Aurelio Lampredi (below LHS) Ferrari.

Ferrari. 1954, 1955 Fritz Nallinger (LHS) & Hans Scherenberg

1954, 1955 Hans Scherenberg & Hans Gassmann. Development: Rudolf Uhlenhaut Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz 1956 Vittorio Jano & Ettore Mina Lancia-Ferrari.

Lancia-Ferrari. 1957 Gioachino Colombo & Guilio Alfieri Maserati.

Maserati. 1958 Vittorio Bellentani (& Gioachino Colombo) Ferrari.

Ferrari. 1958C Frederick Fox , Eric Richter & Leo Kuzmicki Vanwall.

Vanwall. 1959, 1960, 1963, 1965, Walter Hassan RHS (& Harry Mundy LHS for basic FPE design). Later development Peter Windsor-Smith Coventry Climax.

Coventry Climax. 1961, 1964 Carlo Chiti Ferrari

Ferrari

1962 Peter Berthon (RHS above) & Aubrey Woods (LHS below). Development Anthony Rudd (RHS below) BRM.

BRM. 1966, 1967 Philip Irving & Frank Hallam (RHS). Development: John Judd Repco.

Repco. 1968 to 1974,1976, 1978, 1980 - 1982 Keith Duckworth (RHS) Development: Michael Costin . Also John Judd. Cosworth.

Cosworth. 1975, 1976C, 1977, 1979, 1982C, 1983C Mauro Forghieri Ferrari.

Ferrari. 1983 Paul Rosche BMW.

BMW. 1984, 1985, 1986 Hans Mezger Porsche (TAG).

Porsche (TAG). 1986C, 1987, 1988 1989 to 1991 Eiji Taguchi (below), Development Osamo Goto

(LHS) Honda. 1992, 1993, 1994C, 1995 to 1997 Jean-Jacques His (below) & Bernard Dudot (LHS) Renault.

Honda. 1994 Nicholas Hayes Cosworth.

Cosworth. 1998, 1999 Mario Illien Ilmor.

Ilmor. 1999C, 2000

Paolo Martinelli (LHS) & Gilles Simon (below)

Ferrari.

of the CoY are listed below, withof some of the most famous. As will be seen, some men designed more than one successful engine.

about the technical factors involved in :-

The General Design of Racing Piston Engines.

John Barnard

Adrian Newey