Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport), mainstream automotive and defence industries. Cosworth is based in Northampton, England, with North American facilities in Torrance, Indianapolis and Mooresville and an Indian facility in Pune.
Cosworth has had a long and distinguished career in Formula One, beginning in 1963. Two Formula One teams were supplied with Cosworth engines in 2006: the Williams team using Cosworth V8 engines, transmissions, and associated electronics; and the Scuderia Toro Rosso team using rev-limited Cosworth V10s based on 2005 spec engines. The end of the 2006 F1 season marked the end of Cosworth's remarkable 43 year association with the series, as no team opted to use Cosworth for 2007. Cosworth returned to Formula One in 2010 as an engine supplier to Williams and three new teams (Hispania Racing F1 Team, Lotus Racing and Virgin Racing), with first units shipped in January. Cosworth's 176 wins make it one of the most successful engine manufacturers to race in F1, second only to Ferrari in victories.
Cosworth was initially an independent company, later becoming part of United Engineering Industries (UEI) and subsequently Vickers, but also had a long association with Ford Motor Company and was a subsidiary of Ford between 1998 and 2004. In 2004, Cosworth and Pi Research were sold by Ford to the current Cosworth Group owned by Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven.
Since 2006, Cosworth has committed itself to engineering consultancy and component manufacture for an increasingly diverse customer base, including original equipment manufacturer (OEM) automotive, aerospace, defence and aftermarket sectors. The company is AS9100 and ISO9001 accredited, therefore enabling it to operate in the most demanding and safety critical environments. Current publicised projects range from an 80 cc (4.9 cu in) diesel engine for unmanned aerial vehicles, through to an engineering partnership on one of the world's most powerful normally aspirated road car engines. Participation in world class competition continues, with hardware and consultancy support being applied to 2009 entrants in World Touring Car Championship, Formula One, and a variety of GT and sportscar series.
A foundation of the company's aftermarket product line is its Ford Duratec inline-4. Cosworth has broadened this range to supply complete high performance Subaru EJ25 engines and components for Subaru Imprezas, as well as components for Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Nissan vehicles with the VQ35 engine. The company is also a specialist piston supplier, designing and manufacturing forged pistons for road and race vehicles from vintage and classic eras through to leading edge designs for Superbike, World Touring Car, and Formula One