6.5 What is the connection between Ford and Cosworth?
Description
This article is from the Formula One Motor Racing FAQ, by mitchmcc@ultranet.com (Mitchell McCann) with numerous contributions by others.
6.5 What is the connection between Ford and Cosworth?
Ford and Cosworth first co-operated in 1959 when Cosworth
developed a lightweight iron crankcase engine for the new Ford
Anglia. Cosworth founders, Keith Duckworth and Mike Costin, then
tuned the new engine, code-named MAE (Modified Anglia Engine)
and it soon became the power unit of choice for drivers in
Formula Junior and later Formula 3.
Next came the Cosworth FVA racing engine and, impressed by the
potential of the new power unit, Ford commissioned the
Northamptonshire-based company to produce a roadgoing version to
suit its new high-performance Escort, the RS1600. The result was
the BDA (Belt-Driven A-series) which employed many of the
lessons learned in motor racing to achieve excellent levels of
performance and efficiency at relatively low cost.
The most successful Ford-Cosworth collaboration to date has been
the DFV (Double Four Valve) F1 engine.The 90 degree V8 stunned
the racing world when it appeared for the first time at the 1967
Dutch GP in the bank of Colin Chapman's highly effective Lotus
49 chassis and promptly powered Jim Clark to an historic win.
The Ford DFV went on to win 154 more GPs and 12 World
Championships in a career that spanned 15 years. During that
time, the DFV's power output climbed from 405 bhp to 520 bhp at
11,000 rpm.
The most recent development to issue from Cosworth is the Ford
Zetec-R F1 engine. Carrying the same "Zetec" name as the range
of double overhead camshaft, four-valve-per-cylinder engines
used in the current Fiesta, Escort and Mondeo model ranges, the
new 3.5 liter power unit was the highest-revving racing V8 ever
produced when it was unveiled prior to the start of the 1994
season at up to 14,500 rpm.
The new 3.0 liter Zetec-R is very similar to the larger 1994
engine with small differences to allow for the new stepped
floors and races at engine speeds up to 15,000 rpm. The Zetec-R
V10 is provided exclusively to Ford's chosen factory team -
Sauber - while customer teams will be supplied with last year's
V8 or the ED.
Continue to:
My Books
