Division that Built RS6 Twin-Turbo V8 is Out of Audi Hands

If youve never heard of Mahle Gmbh, youre not alone. The Stuttgart, Germany-based automotive supplier is among the worlds top thirty, achieving sales of 3.2 billion euros during 2003.

The behind the scenes supplier has just come to the forefront in a big way, by purchasing famed high-performance engine development company Cosworth Technology Ltd. from Volkswagen AGs premium vehicle division Audi.

Cosworth developed the 450-horsepower twin-turbocharged V8 that motivates Audis RS6 super-sedan, among other engines for

Mahle Gmbh has purchased famed high-performance engine development company Cosworth Technology Ltd. from Audi. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, American Auto Press)

So why sell? While no direct reason was given, Volkswagen, and its Audi division, has been under tremendous strain in recent years, having developed many new models such as the upcoming Golf, Jetta and Passat, plus the overzealous Phaeton which has not performed as well as the automaker initially expected.

Also,

The sale of the Cosworth brand is mainly due to the financial strain currently felt by Audi, and its Volkswagen AG parent company. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, American Auto Press)

The sale should generate much needed capital for the beleaguered automaker, although no sales price has been reported. The company, headquartered in England, grossed 112 million pounds ($218

Although no price has been reported, the sale of the $265 million a year company no doubt meant a reasonable profit for Audi. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, American Auto Press)

Its sales numbers should translate into a reasonable profit for Audi, since it purchased the engine builder from British conglomerate Vickers for 117 million pounds ($225 million USD) in 1998, when the company was divesting its Rolls-Royce and Bentley divisions.

Volkswagen also purchased the two automakers, or so it thought, until BMW showed up with the rights to the Rolls-Royce name. The two cordially separated the two brands, which has been proven especially beneficial to Bentley, long under the stifling control of Rolls-Royce.

None of Cosworths 970 employees in its three British facilities and single U.S. plant

The good news for automotive enthusiasts is that the famed Cosworth name will live on. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, American Auto Press)

If you follow the worlds premier motorsport series, Formula One, you may remember reading about Ford putting Cosworth up for sale when it also put its F1 interests, namely Jaguar Racing, on the block. Confused? Well, this is also true. Volkswagen chose not to purchase the Formula One portion of Cosworth from Vickers, which also builds racing engines for other series such as North Americas Champ Car, and therefore it was sold to Ford Motor Co.

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