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 attached 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:-

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

It is unlikely ever to be surpassed in any of these ways.
Over 16½years, 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, attached).
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 16½years 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).

 

Welcome...

This website, which is not a commercial project, is now enlarged again (February 2012) to provide some more sections of a book on the subject of "Grand Prix Engine Development 1906 - 2000" to those who would like a more detailed technical analysis than is available in the large number of books already published on motor racing.

Following the pattern begun by Laurence Pomeroy in "The Grand Prix Car" in 1949, which collected articles he had written in previous years on particular cars, the author has analysed the engines of a chosen Grand Prix "Car-of-the-Year" (CoY) over the period quoted. Engine examples currently available and other sections accessible are shown in green.

A brief outline of the book has been published in issue 57 of the highly respected Race Engine Technology international magazine. If site visitors who are not subscribers would like to buy copies, they are available from highpowermedia.com.

This 3rd enlargement adds access under:- "2nd Pressure-Charged Era (1983-1988)" to the combined examples 69,70 and 71:- Honda RA166E, RA167E and RA168E; and also under "Notes", no.s 10, 34 ,35, 37, 66, 66 Illustrations, 78, 80, 80B, 89, 92, 94, 95, 96.

A section on Corrections & Additions has also been added

The Contents of the whole book are as follows:

• Foreword

• Introduction

• The Sporting Limits - Major rules controlling engine design

• Grand Prix "Cars-of-the-year" (CoY) in their design eras

• Overview of performance 1906-2000

• General Review:
  • General Design of Racing Piston Engines
  • Design Parameters
  • Configurations

• The Design Eras in detail;-
  • 1st Normally-Aspirated 1906 - 1923 (1NA)
    Egs. 1 to 9;
  • 1st Pressure-Charged 1924 - 1951 (1PC)
    Egs. 10 to 29;
  • 2nd Normally-Aspirated 1952 - 1982 (2NA)
    Egs. 30 to 63; Eg. 35 1957 Maserati 250F1;
    Eg. 47 The Unique Cosworth Story;
    
  • 2nd Pressure-Charged 1983 - 1988 (2PC)
    Egs. 64 to 68;
    Egs 69,70,71 Honda RA166E,RA167E, RA168E, with power curves and fig.70A and figs. 71A,71B
  • 3rd Normally-Aspirated 1989 - 2000 (3NA)
    Egs. 72 to 85; Eg. 84 Ferrari 048 and Eg. 85 Ferrari 049

• Analysis 1906 – 2000:-
  • Part 1: Technical innovations in CoY Grand Prix engines
  • Part 2: Aero-Thermo-Mechanical factor developments.

• Appendix 1: Data-base 1906 – 2000 - Key to Abbreviations
• Appendix 2: Racing and high-power fuels 1906 – 2000 - Table for 1906 – 1998
• Appendix 3: Data Sources (DASO)

• Notes: 1 to 110.
  • Note 10: Power and Fuel.
  • Note 13 Mechanical Speed Limits, Parts 1, 2 and 3
  • Note 34: Optimum gas velocity at inlet
  • Note 35: The influence of Maurice Sizaire on piston engine design
  • Note 37: Determination of Thermal and Volumetric Efficiencies
  • Note 66: The "Standard" Grand Prix suspension.
  • Note 66: Illustrations.
  • Note 78: The 4-valves-per-cylinder revival, 1959 onwards.
  • Note 80: The FVA and DFV and "Tumble Swirl".
  • Note 80B: "Barrel Turbulence" aka "Tumble Swirl".
  • Note 89: TurboCharging background.
  • Note 92: Honda: Racing Motor-Cycles
  • Note 94: Grand Prix 1.5l TC engine developed from F2 2l NA.
  • Note 95: Best 3.5l NA engine in 1987 and 1988.
  • Note 96: Effects of Pressure-Charging on the Power equation.

• Corrections and Additions
• Corrigenda 7th November 2011

The foundations of the book are the data collected and analysed for the 85 Grand Prix engines chosen over 1906 – 2000 (the number of Examples being fewer than the 105 calendar years because of years when no GPs took place, partly offset by the years when the unit powering the Drivers' Championship and that of the Constructors' Championship were different and both were included). These data are collected in Appendix 1 which is posted on this site, together with 24 engines regarded as "Significant Other" although not Grand Prix units. A Key to Abbreviations is provided (where these are not defined on the DataBase).

In the complete book each engine example has been analysed in detail, not providing complete mechanical descriptions because these are already available in numerous specialist publications and also not repeating areas covered in the General Review but concentrating on individual factors of significance to performance and reliability. A section drawing is provided wherever possible or at least an illustration* and also, where possible, a Power Curve. The example descriptions posted so far are listed in the Contents above. More will follow.

It is also intended to post other sections of the book as listed in the Contents, including the Notes which contain special component reviews of, egs. Pistons, Valve Springs, Sparking-plugs, Exhaust Valves and Bearings. Note 13 a discussion of Mechanical Speed Limits from Piston Stressing, Piston-ring Flutter and Valve Speed is now posted here.

For immediate interest the website also "short-cuts" the book to the final section of Analysis in 2 Parts, as given in the Contents.

Appendix 2 Racing & High-power Engine Fuels is now posted.

Great care has been taken to reference all data sources, collected in Appendix 3 and the total approaches 1,000 individual items, many representing multiple use in the book. This is posted here, with a selection of others as listed.

Derek S. Taulbut.

* It has not been possible to track all illustration Copyright holders but it is hoped that there will not be objections to their use here in a not-for-profit site.