Cosworth is now two companies, Cosworth Racing and Cosworth Technology; they split in 1998.
The original company was founded as a British racing engine maker, founded in Northampton in 1958 by Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth.
The V8 Ford Cosworth DFV is the most successful engine in Formula 1 history. It won on its first outing, at the Dutch Grand Prix in the hands of Jim Clark, fitted to a Lotus 49.
Despite being an independent company Cosworth was supported by Ford and most of the Cosworth engines were branded Ford.
The company has been through a number of owners. United Engineering Industries (UEI) purchased the company in 1980; UEI were taken over by Carlton Communications in 1988. Vickers bought Cosworth in 1990. In 1998 Vickers sold the company to Volkswagen Group, who then signed a deal with Ford, which would buy the racing division which had long always made racing engines for Ford. Cosworth Racing is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford. Cosworth Technology (also known as CT) offers powertrain development consultancy, and its patented aluminium casting process is used by several car makers including Audi and Aston Martin.