F1 Engine builder Cosworth up for sale

[John S]

Current owners instruct UBS to find buyer for famous engine firm.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9614006/Motoring-company-Cosworth-puts-itself-on-sale.html

[F1fanaticBD]

Was Cosworth as well waiting for things to be changed with the regulation changes in 2014, and now because of the uncertainty, they are now abandoning the plan. Though Cosworth marque is now not only depended upon the motorsports, they have significant diversities of other component for other heavy industry as well.

Cosworth was first involved in Formula One in 1963 and was most successful with the DFV V8 that won 155 grands prix between 1967 and 1983. In recent years its customer base has been slashed from four teams to just two but it is still keen to continue in F1 in 2014 when new engine regulations will see a switch to V6 turbos.

"[We'd] love to do it," Cosworth F1's general manager Kim Spearman said at the Japanese Grand Prix. "If we can find a commercially sustainable way to provide a competitive platform for some potential customers, we'd like to do that.

"We are in useful negotiations with customers and hopefully we'll find a way to be in. We've been in business for 54 years, much of it in Formula One. We've got passionate people back at Cosworth who want to stay in Formula One and we'd like to get there. We've been working on the engine for 18 months."
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Sorry cos, to watch you put up for sale is not a good sign motorsports..

[cosworth151]

It's the second time in the last few years. The first one was when Ford sold it, and its other advanced tech arms, off in 2004. It was the start of Ford's nosedive.

While I'd love to see Cosworth stay in F1, it might be just as well not to see such a great name on a little pathetic 6 popper. 

[Jericoke]

It's the second time in the last few years. The first one was when Ford sold it, and its other advanced tech arms, off in 2004. It was the start of Ford's nosedive.

While I'd love to see Cosworth stay in F1, it might be just as well not to see such a great name on a little pathetic 6 popper. 

The start of Ford's nosedive?  Did you notice that Ford remains the only major American automotive company from 2004 still in business?

Chrysler was bought by Fiat, and General Motors Corp was sold to General Motors Company. 

Ford is still Ford, even if they had to give up racing to do it.  (If they weren't going to to it right, why bother doing it at all?)

[F1fanaticBD]

Ford is still Ford, even if they had to give up racing to do it.  (If they weren't going to to it right, why bother doing it at all?)

Agreed Jeri, but bits of Ford in the racing can still be found in the V8 supercars in Australia.

[lkjohnson1950]

While I'd love to see Cosworth stay in F1, it might be just as well not to see such a great name on a little pathetic 6 popper. 

I don't see anything pathetic about 850 BHP no matter if it's 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or 16 cylinders.

[cosworth151]

Like I said, that like saying that it wouldn't make any difference if Marilyn Monroe was really a transvestite. If F1 is going to claim to be the best of the best, it needs something a whole lot more sexy than a minivan engine.

GM is still alive and well. They made a minor paperwork change in the name and are now eating Ford's lunch, I'm very sorry to say. Ford is abandoning all sorts of market sectors that they used to dominate. Rear drive sedans, gone. Small pick-ups, gone. Full size vans, go away next year. The next Mustang will be a rear-drive 2-door Focus clone.

Remember, Ford was founded with a race car.

[John S]

Like I said, that like saying that it wouldn't make any difference if Marilyn Monroe was really a transvestite. If F1 is going to claim to be the best of the best, it needs something a whole lot more sexy than a minivan engine.

I think a fairer analogy in Marilyn's case would be if she was a 32b cup surgically enhanced to 36D. Doesn't seem to affect the careers of other Holywood stars so I'm sure it doesn't amount to a hill of beans for Marilyn fans, myself included. 

 

[F1fanaticBD]

I think a fairer analogy in Marilyn's case would be if she was a 32b cup surgically enhanced to 36D. Doesn't seem to affect the careers of other Holywood stars so I'm sure it doesn't amount to a hill of beans for Marilyn fans, myself included. 

 

Have you completely lost it Ian?

Cos this guy needs help, desperately..

How come squeezing down the engine be compared with 32 to 36D transformation?

[Jericoke]

Like I said, that like saying that it wouldn't make any difference if Marilyn Monroe was really a transvestite. If F1 is going to claim to be the best of the best, it needs something a whole lot more sexy than a minivan engine.

GM is still alive and well. They made a minor paperwork change in the name and are now eating Ford's lunch, I'm very sorry to say. Ford is abandoning all sorts of market sectors that they used to dominate. Rear drive sedans, gone. Small pick-ups, gone. Full size vans, go away next year. The next Mustang will be a rear-drive 2-door Focus clone.

Remember, Ford was founded with a race car.

A minor paper work change?  The company founded in 1909 folded, and a new company took over.  They were clever, and took on a similar name.  

To be fair, Ford Motor Company, founded in 1903 was a reorg of the 1902 Ford & Malcomson company, which  is not to be confused with the defunct Henry Ford Company, which was created in 1901.  It was the defunct 1902 company that was founded by a race car.

If the company can't do the other things right, they're going to stop doing them.  I hope that they can rebuild the company from its rebuilt foundation, getting into every niche and back into racing.

If F1 wants a high tech engine, then one way to go is electric.  There's not much 'hi tech' left in the area of internal combustion engines.  Putting a miniature V8 in an F1 car just seems silly. (Unless they're okay with cars with 1000+ hp... which I am!)

[John S]

How come squeezing down the engine be compared with 32 to 36D transformation?

The Turbo charging effect BD.    

[Ian]

I think you've completely lost it BD  , this is the first comment I've made on this thread.     

[cosworth151]

A minor paper work change?  The company founded in 1909 folded, and a new company took over.  They were clever, and took on a similar name.

Yes, very minor. My company did the same thing 5 years ago. We all came in the next day to the same business doing the same things in the same buildings with the same people. GM did the same thing. If you lived down here, every time you turned on a TV, you'd here a commercial proclaiming "GM is still alive!"

Ford still claims that it started with racing:

http://racing.ford.com/history

I've always bought Fords, but Mulally is making that impossible. No more Econolines or Rangers mean that we'll have to buy Savanahs and Colorados here at work. No more rear drive sedans means that I'll have to find used P.I.'s for my personal car. (Claw_Grrrl just replaced here old Town Car with a used P.I. last week). Ford has a fine replacement already in production, the Aussie Falcon. Mulally doesn't think the we deserve it here in the States. The same for the new Ranger or the HiPo two door Fiesta.

[Jericoke]

Yes, very minor. My company did the same thing 5 years ago. We all came in the next day to the same business doing the same things in the same buildings with the same people. GM did the same thing. If you lived down here, every time you turned on a TV, you'd here a commercial proclaiming "GM is still alive!"

I don't recall using my tax money to purchase a portion of the new holding company for your company like I did with GM Company.

I'm not debating whether or not it was the right thing to do, but GM did not save itself the way Ford did.  Ford gave up things that people loved, GM just took my money.

Ford still claims that it started with racing:

http://racing.ford.com/history

I've always bought Fords, but Mulally is making that impossible. No more Econolines or Rangers mean that we'll have to buy Savanahs and Colorados here at work. No more rear drive sedans means that I'll have to find used P.I.'s for my personal car. (Claw_Grrrl just replaced here old Town Car with a used P.I. last week). Ford has a fine replacement already in production, the Aussie Falcon. Mulally doesn't think the we deserve it here in the States. The same for the new Ranger or the HiPo two door Fiesta.

I remember my dad explained to me how the car companies worked:  they would build a car, and then convince people that was the car they needed to buy.

Now, thanks to Consumer Reports and the Internet, people know exactly what they want in a car, and the companies are full of people who try and decide what customers want, and try to build only that.  The car is becoming a commodity, and that's no fun at all.

[F1fanaticBD]

I think you've completely lost it BD  , this is the first comment I've made on this thread.     

Sorry Ian, I really thought none except you would make such comments..

Jeez John, turbo-charged 36D??

Speechless..