Frank Costin was an engineer with the de Havilland Aircraft Company when, in 1954, his brother Mike, a former de Havilland engineer then working for Lotus Engineering Ltd., asked him to design an aerodynamic body for a new racing car. Intrigued by the idea of applying aerodynamics to racing cars, Costin designed the body for the Lotus Mark VIII.
Left to tight : Colin Chapman, Mike Costin, Alan Stacey, Innes Ireland, Graham Hill - Lotus 17 - 1959 Hornsey
In 1956, when Colin Chapman was commissioned by Tony Vandervell to design a Grand Prix racing car to challenge Maserati and Ferrari dominance of the formula, Chapman recommended Costin to Vandervell as the body designer. Costin designed the body for the Vanwall that won the first Grand Prix Constructors' Championship.
Costin then used his aeronautical knowledge to design and build a chassis from plywood. This led to a lightweight, stiff structure, which he could then clothe with an efficient, aerodynamic body, a huge advantage in the low-capacity sports car racing of the immediate postwar period. He was also involved in a number of road car projects for various manufacturers including Lister and Lotus, where he contributed to the early aerodynamic designs; Marcos, which he co-founded with Speedex Cars' Jem Marsh (MARsh and COStin); and racecar chassis for Maserati, Lotus, and DTV. He also designed the Costin Amigo, the TMC Costin, and the Costin Sports Roadster. He also created an ultra-light glider with Keith Duckworth.
Costin was thus established as the leading aerodynamic thinker in the British motor industry. Costin pairing with Jem Marsh to build an advanced sporting special known as the Marcos, beginning in 1960. It looked sort of like an Elite but was built on a unique structure that incorporated torque boxes glued together from marine plywood. Despite the unusual choice of materials--Costin likely was inspired by the structural wood of De Havilland's wartime Mosquito bomber--it qualified as another successful monocoque.
Dollgelau in Wales. Marcos.
Costin and Marcos later reverted to conventional space frames. Before retiring to build gliders, Costin created a wild canopy-fitted F2 car called the Protos, and the rapid March 711 with its ovoid front wing. Bolted to the March's rear bulkhead was a Cosworth-Ford DFV V-8: Costin's younger brother, Mike, was co-founder of Cosworth along with Keith Duckworth. (COStin, duckWORTH)
Here We talk to Sean Thompson and Billy about the TMC Costin and the unique chassis design of the Costin.
Part 2 and more detail on the unique TMC Costin chassis design.
And into Billy’s shed !
Recap and an Update on Billy Doyles TMC Restoration. from his shed.
TMC 1st Outing.
Frank Costin (8 June 1920 – 5 February 1995)
Frank Costin died on February 5 after a short illness. Frank was working for De Havilland when his younger brother Mike asked his opinion about an aerodynamic body which Colin Chapman had designed. Frank did not think much of it, and designed another, thus beginning an involvement with Chapman which led to several body designs for Lotus and a collaboration on the Vanwall, the car which changed Britain’s fortunes in Formula One.
The relationship with Chapman ended when Frank decided that being paid was a good idea and became a freelance (his remuneration for five years’ work for Lotus was a Ford Anglia). In the world of the motor car Frank left behind a string of partners with whom he disagreed, yet he was prized by the best engineers. He worked on projects with Brian Hart, for example, and at the time of his death was working on a glider and a powered light aircraft for Keith Duckworth.
Frank always regarded cars as low technology compared to his beloved aircraft, yet he was responsible for over 40 automotive projects. Apart from the Vanwall and early Lotuses, they included the Lister, Marcos, Costin-Nathan, Protos, Costin ‘Amigo’, and the body for the March 711 in which Ronnie Peterson was runner-up in the 1971 World Championship. Automotive design was only a small part of his portfolio; there were also microlights, gliders, boats, printing presses and the body for the British team’s fourman bobsleigh.
Frank was a polymath who had been an Olympic-standard swimmer in his youth, and who composed music in his mature years. He lived life to the full, shrugged off the hard knocks (there were many), and was the most honest and kindly of men.