INDYCAR: Cosworth 2012 Q&A

IndyCar

INDYCAR: Cosworth 2012 Q&A

How long will it take to produce a 2012 engine? Is an inline-4 better than a V6, and how much will it cost to build? Marshall Pruett finds out.

Marshall Pruett | Posted August 19, 2010 Fremont, CA

The legendary Cosworth racing engine firm is hopeful to rejoin the IndyCar Series in 2012 with a new partner, after decades of representing Ford on both sides of the pond. (Marshall Pruett)

The future of the IZOD IndyCar Series is filled with ambitious plans for 2012, and none are more important than securing multiple engine manufacturers.

Few of the world’s biggest auto companies possess a competition department capable of producing their own IndyCar engine, creating a scenario where specialist racing engine builders will likely get the call to manufacture 2012 engines.

Waiting in the wings to help bring those new engines to life are companies like Ilmor, Menard Competition Technology, Engine Developments, Advanced Engine Research, and Cosworth, the most tenured IndyCar engine firm of the lot.

From vee angles to cylinder block deck heights, the specifics of the 2012 engine rules have yet to be written, and little is known about the exact limits of engine architecture. As long as those boundaries remain a mystery, designers will have to wait before penning their first components, but that hasn’t prevented some of them from getting ahead of the curve.

Speaking with Martin Tolliday, Director of Motorsports at Cosworth Electronics, the championship-winning engine constructors have come up with their own plan for the best 2012 engine. All they need now is a call and commitment from an interested auto manufacturer.

“We think where we are with the IZOD IndyCar Series at the moment, it's a good opportunity for Cosworth to work with a manufacturer to produce a competitive, economical engine that would be able to compete with Honda, as an example, and have a good chance of winning the Championship, the Indy 500, etc. I think we've got the history and the credentials to be able to do that and the infrastructure to be able to support it.”

As an independent engine builder, Tolliday says they will produce whatever style of 2012 engine a customer requests, but they haven’t waited for a signed contract to begin investigating the best engine options. Their plan, as he shares, is to be ready to act if and when they are hired to produce a powerplant.

“Cosworth have already done the homework and some modeling to understand what would be required. Key things such as piston speeds, loadings, etc. Because, obviously, you need to make sure that not only is the engine competitive, it needs to be reliable and also robust enough that it will last the difference between engine rebuilds without significant degradation. Our experience of that, particularly with the rules in Formula One dictating long engine life, means we've looked at this and drawn from our most recent experience and we’re comfortable where we think that would be, with either a four-cylinder, or the six-cylinder IndyCar engine.”

One of the big attractions to building an engine meant for 2012 is the level playing field it offers every manufacturer, according to Tolliday

“I think the exciting thing for us is actually there's a window of opportunity with the new car, irrespective the chassis, it's an opportunity right now where a manufacturer could come in, not be disadvantaged by years of development with the current car and engines. So you've got the potential to come in on an equal footing, which is quite an exciting opportunity. And I have to say, some people have said the IRL have been a bit vague on the rules but actually I think that's a good thing. I think it’s more likely for them to be able to attract a manufacturer because actually I think they’re more open to be accommodating to a manufacturer rather than turning a manufacturer away because it doesn't quite fit the detailed rules that they could easily put into place.

“So I think being as open as possible right up until the last moment to try and attract manufacturers and ideas into the series is smart. Also, I think the challenge is, like with any form of motorsport around the world, to find a manufacturer who’s as excited as us, and it's also the right time in their development cycle or budgetary cycles to come on board, really. A few things must come together all at once.”

Torsional rigidity has been a concern for those considering an inline-4 engine, due to its nearly vertical design. Looking at how the I4 and V6 are constructed, the V6 would appear to be a natural choice to use as a stressed member.

With Chevrolet's new IRL engine performing below expectations, General Motors made the bold move to press an unused IRL design from Cosworth -- then owned by rival Ford -- into service in 2003. (LAT)

With a V6, an engine whose silhouette forms the letter ‘Y’ (compared to the 4-cylinder’s letter ‘I’), its design better withstands the bending and twisting forces it endures in competition.

Despite this fact, the inline-4, which requires extra material and engineering efforts to match the V6’s stiffness, can be made into a viable IndyCar engine, as Tolliday explains.

“I think that's an easy thing to say about the V6, yes, that's true; but actually it’s true to a point. The 4-cylinder would need more careful consideration for the torsion, etc. But that's all just about planning and understanding how to design an engine, really. People such as Cosworth or Honda would have the skill sets to be able to do the analysis and modeling to be able to cope with that with the minimum amount of material added. You’d use material in the right ways to be able to do it. It's obviously an easier task to design the engine from scratch; if you're starting from a standard block that's readily available off the shelf then you’ve got a bigger challenge, for sure.”

To put a finger on the exact costs to produce a 2012 engine, manufacturers first need to know what types of materials will be allowed. The more exotic the metals they are given access to, the more expensive the motors become to build and lease. Most of the engine experts I’ve spoken with have all expressed a desire for the Series to mandate the use of common, lower cost metals, and provided they do, Tolliday expects to offer a somewhat reasonable price tag for any manufacturer wishing to enter the game.

“Material allowances make that hard to answer that one definitively. The only thing I know is that when we did some analysis, we were comfortable where we could meet the targets the IRL were suggesting for an annual engine lease. And once the motor is constructed, I don't believe the R&D costs are going to be extraordinary. I heard people talk about upwards of $15 million being required to produce a fully developed engine for the car. It's nowhere near those figures. It's nowhere near double figures.”

While Tolliday wouldn’t be drawn on an exact dollar figure, he politely suggested that my estimates of between four and six million dollars to design, build and develop an engine for 2012 was in the ballpark of what a manufacturer should expect to spend to get on the grid.

“I would prefer not to officially answer that one, but it sounds like you're a sensible person,” he said with a laugh.

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