• Ricardo plc

Engine Patents Ltd was founded by mechanical engineer Harry Ricardo (1885-1974) in 1915 to finance his consultancy work on advanced engine design and combustion research. Ricardo had previously worked for his grandfather's firm, Rendel & Robertson civil engineers, London, latterly leading on the design of specialised mechanical equipment for large civil engineering projects. At the outbreak of the First World War, classified in a reserved occupation, he designed aero-engines made by Brotherhood and Beardmore and tank engines. In 1916 Ricardo was appointed consulting engineer to the mechanical warfare department and was asked to encourage manufacturers to make new and more powerful engines. The successful design and production of his 150hp engine on a large scale and the development of two larger 225hp and 300hp engines, incorporating features for improving combustion, led to Ricardo’s appointment in 1918 as consulting engineer in aero-engines to the Air Ministry. In 1919 a laboratory, designed by Ricardo’s father, was built for the firm at Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex where the firm has continued to be based. In 1920 the company name changed from Engine Patents Ltd to Ricardo & Co Engineers Ltd and in 1927 to Ricardo & Co, Engineers (1927) Ltd, commonly known as Ricardo Consulting Engineers. Initially the company had the support of a multi-year contract with the Asiatic Petroleum Co for research on fuels and detonation. Apart from this research the firm also designed all forms of internal combustion or related engines and offered a consulting service. Ricardo designed a side-valve engine, patented in 1932, known as the turbulent head and a six-cylinder diesel engine, The Comet, manufactured by Associated Equipment Co for use in London bus fleets and for export to Europe. In the 1930s the company also converted a Kestrel V12 to diesel operation and the V-16 engine for the Alfa Romeo. It was also encouraged by the Aeronautical Research Committee, to develop a high-powered engine for fighter aircraft which became the Rolls-Royce Crecy. In 1941 the firm additionally designed a relief valve reducing the pressure in aircraft fuel lines that was used in Frank Whittle’s Gloster E.28/39.

In 1950, the company developed an engine for the 4-8-4 Fell locomotive. In 1968 Ricardo was contracted by the US navy to develop a diesel power unit capable of extended running at ocean depths and in 1973 the firm introduced the Hydra engine. In the 1970s-80s Opel and General Motors used Ricardo combustion-chamber technology in the Opel Rekord and Chevrolet Suburban. The company underwent a series of name changes at this time as Ricardo Consulting Engineers plc from 1978, Ricardo Group plc from 1988, Ricardo International plc from 1990, Ricardo Group plc from 1992 and simply Ricardo plc since 1999. In 1990 the company developed an automatic layshaft transmission as part of an integrated power-train control system and in 1994 acquired a major developer of four-wheel drive technology, FF Developments. Later the company undertook work to improve the BMW K1200 series motorcycle engines using Ricardo combustion-chamber technology. The company went on, in around 2008, to develop a fuel-saving engine capable of switching between two-stroke and four-stroke cycles in collaboration with Denso, Jaguar Land Rover and the Centre for Automotive Engineering at the University of Brighton. The company collaborated with Xtrac by assisting with parts manufacture for the 1044 gearbox, supplied in 2010 to three Formula One teams: Lotus, Virgin and HRT. In 2009 McLaren Automotive selected Ricardo to develop a new engine, which became the McLaren M838T, for its supercars and collaborated with Israel Aerospace Industries to develop a semi-robotic tug, Taxibot, to reduce aviation fuel consumption. The Ministry of Defence selected a vehicle developed by Ricardo, known as Ocelot, to replace the Snatch Land Rover in 2010. In 2011 Ricardo developed a carbon-fibre flywheel with a magnetic coupling and gearing system for energy-storage purposes known as TorqStor. In 2015 Ricardo acquired Lloyd's Register Rail for £42.5 million to develop the company's rail expertise.