The birth of Formula 1’s greatest engine

15 October 1965

‘Ford for Formula 1’ was the lead headline in Pit & Paddock this week in 1965. After much speculation, Ford confirmed it would finance a series of racing engines for Team Lotus, to be built by Cosworth Engineering. “The man behind the scheme is Walter Hayes, Ford of Dagenham’s director of public affairs, who has persuaded his board that such a venture must lead to immense prestige for

Ford,” said the story.

Autosport described the move as “a major step”, and added:

“The decision to enter F1 racing in conjunction with Team Lotus is not only a genuine desire by certain enthusiastic gentlemen, but part and parcel of a long-term scheme to project the Ford image in every acceptable phase of motorsporting activity.”

Interestingly, Autosport suggested that among the requirements from Lotus boss Colin Chapman was that the F1 engine would “have at least 12 cylinders”. But the result of the project was, of course, the Cosworth DFV V8.

The DFV would win first time out in the back of Jim Clark’s Lotus 49 in the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix and would score 155 world championship race wins before finally being made obsolete by the first turbo era of the 1980s.

There was not a lot of international motorsport this week 55 years ago, but Autosport did report on the ‘Armstrong 500’, the early days of what we now call the Bathurst 1000. The privateer Ford Cortina GT500 of Midge Bosworth and Barry Seton (father of later Aussie tin-top star Glenn) won against factory opposition from Ford and BMC.

As if to encourage Ford further in motorsport, Autosport ran a cover of the Ferrari 250LM that had won against the big V8s at the Le Mans 24 Hours, four months earlier!