Sauber Petronas Engineering

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Sauber Petronas Engineering AG (SPE) was a company owned by the Swiss racing car manufacturer Sauber (60%) and the Malaysian oil company Petronas (40%). It was founded in 1996 for the purpose of supplying engines to the Sauber Formula One team, though at the same time the company began work on the design of production car engines for the Malaysian national car company Proton. The company also helped develop racing motorcycles like Petronas GP1. Former Honda and Ferrari engineer Osamu Goto was in charge of the Powertrain Division, including the F1 engine program. The engines were for many years nearly identical to the ones used by Ferrari but were branded Petronas. Sauber licensed nearly every legally licensable part from Ferrari and even had several Ferrari engineers on staff. Many pointed out suspicious similarities between the Ferrari and Sauber chassis, but no formal accusations were ever made, even as FIA rules require each team to design their own chassis. The long-term aim of Sauber...

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