Will Cosworth develop a V6 engine?

[Hawkmoon]

VW has been teasing everyone on an off with its F1 interest. As of right now, I believe their position is that they're not interested in F1, with Audi stating last year that F1 is "irrelevant" to them. I am also skeptical that McLaren will build its own engine. The economic benefits are just not there. Designing a formula 1 engine is very expensive. A car manufacturer can afford this because a Formula 1 engine promotes their road car sales. I don't think McLaren can double its road car sales because the car is renamed from "McLaren-Mercedes" into McLaren. Besides, even doubling their road car sales will not make up for the costs of engine design.

I'd have to agree with this. There is no chance that McLaren will design and build their own engine. Do they even posses the manufacturing capability to produce an engine?

Even if they could do it, why would they? The chances of being immediately competitive are slim and McLaren won't want to be off the pace for a few seasons while they come to grips with competitive F1 engine building.

[AndyL]

I'd have to agree with this. There is no chance that McLaren will design and build their own engine. Do they even posses the manufacturing capability to produce an engine?

Even if they could do it, why would they? The chances of being immediately competitive are slim and McLaren won't want to be off the pace for a few seasons while they come to grips with competitive F1 engine building.

They don't have F1 engine manufacturing facilities, but then neither did Mercedes. They stuck their badge on an Ilmor engine for several years before eventually buying the company. McLaren could take a similar route. It might even be economically viable if they can sign up some smaller teams as engine customers. (Team 13: Prodrive?) So I think they could do it. But why would they is still a good question.

[Rollo]

Who builds the engine for the MP-12C?

[Hawkmoon]

Who builds the engine for the MP-12C?

A company called Ricardo in conjunction with McLaren I believe. If memory serves the engine is based on a Nissan engine.

[AndyL]

A company called Ricardo in conjunction with McLaren I believe. If memory serves the engine is based on a Nissan engine.

The one from the R390 GT car apparently.

[mtname]

The interesting thing is Cosworth supply Mclaren with Heads,Blocks and sumps for the mp-12c also Cosworth's are for sale. There has been much talk on the net about Mclaren & Cosworth becoming one. The timing would be just right for Mclaren's 2015 season?

[zako85]

The interesting thing is Cosworth supply Mclaren with Heads,Blocks and sumps for the mp-12c also Cosworth's are for sale. There has been much talk on the net about Mclaren & Cosworth becoming one. The timing would be just right for Mclaren's 2015 season?

I doubt it. Someone has to fund the engine development costs, which can be substantial for a competitive engine. At least Mercedes and Renault can afford this, because the engine name promotes their brand. Ferrari is different because building their own engines was always part of brand cachet (can you imagine Ferrari with a Cosworth engine). Ferrari can also afford this because they an extra "subsidy" for commercial TV rights and good sponsors. I can see McLaren switching to some other engine if the "lose" their Mercedes engine deal. However, I don't know why would Mercedes not want to provide its engine to a front running team.

[N. Jones]

VW has been teasing everyone on an off with its F1 interest. As of right now, I believe their position is that they're not interested in F1, with Audi stating last year that F1 is "irrelevant" to them. I am also skeptical that McLaren will build its own engine. The economic benefits are just not there. Designing a formula 1 engine is very expensive. A car manufacturer can afford this because a Formula 1 engine promotes their road car sales. I don't think McLaren can double its road car sales because the car is renamed from "McLaren-Mercedes" into McLaren. Besides, even doubling their road car sales will not make up for the costs of engine design.

True. The reason I bring up McLaren building their own engine is an article I read a few years ago that stated Ron Dennis has a dream of McLaren becoming the "British Ferrari" and one day building their own F1 engine. I am just hoping that when Mercedes leaves them in 2015 that becomes a reality.

[Jag_Warrior]

As a great fan of Cosworth and getting to speak with some of their engineers when they were supplying CART/CCWS engines, I find the company's current state to be extremely sad and depressing. So many people have left and so much damage has been done to the company's technical and manufacturing capabilities under Kevin Kalkhoven's (horrible) stewardship that I'm not totally believing this is anything more than a fleeting pipe dream by a guy who is trying to hang onto his job.

As a company that once had its hands in almost every major racing series in the world, it's now just a sad shadow if itself. I was looking into buying some Cosworth bits for a WRX engine that I wanted to build and they don't even answer emails anymore. They used to have a technical and sales staff that oversaw the Ebay store and the online outlet. Now, as far as I can tell, they still do technical & engineering collaborations and some light OEM partnering on projects. But they have nothing more than a light presence in racing, other than this pathetic deal with Marussia.

I wish that McLaren would buy the outfit. Somebody, anybody with some money and some vision. The sooner the Kalkhoven era passes into history the better!

[zako85]

Things probably went downhill after Ford disinvested out of Formula 1 in mid-00s, though even under Ford's patronage the results were kind of meager considering that Ford-Cosworth engines' biggest accomplishment within the past 30 years was Schumacher's first title in 1994, and that under questionable circumstances.

I can't see Cosworth existing on its own without a major corporation picking up its pieces, someone along the lines of WAG, Hyundai, or even Ford.