'Wall of Sound' to celebrate DFV's 40th.

The 40th anniversary of the venerable Cosworth DFV engine will be celebrated at May's inaugural GPlive event, culminating in a special 'wall of sound' featuring some of the most famous cars of the bygone era.

A special parade involving 40 DFV-powered grand prix cars will help kick-start the celebration of the most successful engine in racing history, before the Donington Park grid is packed for the participants to rev in unison, combining 320 cylinders, 120 litres and an estimated 20,000 horsepower in a single Cosworth howl.

"Not only is the Ford Cosworth DFV one of the most successful engines in the history of Formula One, it is also one of the most distinctive," explained event founder Richard Morgan, "Just a single Cosworth DFV has an exhaust note which makes the hair stand up on your neck, so just imagine what 40 will sound like!"

Morgan revealed that he expected examples of the 1967 Lotus 49, 1971 Tyrrell 001, 1972 Lotus 72, 1976 McLaren M23 and Tyrrell P34, 1981 JPS-Lotus 88B, 1982 Williams FW08 and JPS-Lotus 91 to take part in the 18-20 May event, providing visitors with a wide range of Cosworth-powered machinery to linger over.

The DFV made an immediate impact on Formula One and went on to make its mark for the next 15 years, before different variants found success in other series around the world. The Cosworth assembly at Donington will also be a poignant moment, following the company's unwarranted exit from the contemporary Formula One scene.

Developed by British engineers Frank Costin and Keith Duckworth, the three-litre Ford-based engine scored an historic debut victory at Zandvoort on 18 June 1967, having been fitted to Jim Clark's Lotus 49. Recognised as a step forward by the Scot's rivals, it went on to dominate Formula One for the next decade-and-a-half, with the 155th and final victory being scored by the Tyrrell of Michele Alboreto at the 1983 US Grand Prix. In that time, no fewer than eleven world titles fell to DFV-powered cars, underlining the engine's superiority.

The DFV was eventually replaced by the Cosworth-built HB, which won eleven races between 1989 and 1993, and this was, in turn, superseded by the Zetec V8 which powered Michael Schumacher to his first world title in its debut year.

An Indycar derivative of the DFV, the DFX, only added to Cosworth's legacy, capturing a further 151 race wins in a 14-year reign, culminating in ten drivers' championships and ten Indianapolis 500 victories.

GPlive will showcase some of Cosworth's finest as part of its 'Design and Engineering Zone', with a special display highlighting the V8 engine's evolution from the 1960s, through the 1980s right up to format's return in 2006, with the 20,000rpm 2.4-litre Cosworth unit used by Williams - reputedly the most powerful engine in the field - completing the exhibit.