Talking to Gordon Kirby on the official Champ Car website, Cosworth boss Kevin Kalkhoven confirmed that the highly anticipated V8 F1 power-plant is already hitting 21,000 rpm on the test bed.

"They produce ingenious engineering solutions for a tenth of the cost of the big engineering companies," said Kalkhoven of the company he bought in December, following Ford's decision to withdraw from F1.

"Cosworth doesn't have marble on the floor, but it has some smart brains," he continued. "When you see that little Formula 1 V-8 running at 21,000 revs, well, it's amazing to see what they can do with a limited number of very smart engineers."

Asked about his company's future in F1, which only has Minardi - which will use the V10 next season - confirmed, he replied: "The V-8 is up and running, with well over 700 horsepower at 21,000 revs. It's going well. It's a great engine.

"We're in negotiations with a couple of teams at the moment," he revealed, "we'll see how it goes. It's hard to compete with the manufacturers that give away free engines and a lot of support. So it really depends on how important having an independent engine manufacturer is to Formula 1 or whether they want to be entirely in the hands of manufacturers.

"I've had a meeting with Bernie," he admitted. "He was very helpful and came up with a lot of creative ideas. Whether or not we supply a complete engine, we'll supply a lot of stuff, particularly when you combine it with Pi.

"Obviously we would like to have the engine in Formula 1," he admitted. "You certainly go out of your way to create a competitive offer to teams, but in the final analysis, you can never exceed an offer that a manufacturer will make. We have a contract with our friends at Minardi, but that's not a front-running team."

The New V8 can be seen and heard, here