Cosworth was co-founded by Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth in 1958. They achieved the first Cosworth DFV victory the first time out in 1967 powering Jim Clark to first place in the Dutch Grand Prix. By the 25th anniversary, Cosworth had taken drivers to twelve World Championships, racing teams to ten Constructor's Cups and 152 individual Grand Prix victories.

In 1975, the Vel's Parnelli Jones team took steps to build on the success of the Ford Cosworth DFV Formula One engine and began developing a turbocharged 2.65-litre deriviative of it their Indy Car. The Cosworth DFX became the dominating engine within two years and achieved 80 first-place finishes by the end of 1982. The V8 engine provided for some of the closet and most unpredictable racing of the time.

Al Unser, Sr. was the first to win a Cosworth powered Indy Car championship in 1976. He won the Pocono 500, Milwaukee 500 and Phoenix 150 races. Al Unser drove the first Cosworth to an Indy 500 victory in 1978. Several other drivers achieved legendary status in Cosworth powered cars including Johnny Rutherford, Tom Sneva, Rick Mears, Danny Ongais, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and Bobby Unser.

Cosworth continues its 45 year history and remains one of the most respected names in the world of engine technology. Cosworth remains involved with Grand Prix racing, supplying engines to Jaguar, Jordan and Minardi. It is the engine supplier to every team in the CART series and is prominent in the World Rally Championship and Superbike racing.