Ken Costello 1927-2015

David Lillywhite pays his respects to a single-minded and talented engineer, driver and entrepreneur, who fought to the end

RACER AND ENGINEER Ken Costello, widely regarded as the unofficial father of the MGB V8, has died aged 88 having lost his battle with cancer. His story is one of bravery, entrepreneurialism and pure bloody-mindedness; but it’s not a story that’s well-known, because Ken never sought publicity, and often seemed to do his utmost to avoid it. To the day he died, his only-ever magazine interview was with Lctanein 2010, when he agreed to meet up with myself and three enthusiastic Costello MG owners. His involvement with cars, though, began back in the 1950s, as an automotive engineering student. He moved on to the Motor Industry Research Department in Middlesex, and took an interest in motor racing, with the result that in 1959 a friend offered him the chance to race his…

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Octane (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 1, 2015

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