It never participated in a race, as its primary purpose was for testing by Trevor Taylor and Mike Costin to improve the traction of cars powered by Cosworth DFV engines.

[2] In the 1968 season, it became apparent that although cars powered by Cosworth engines had a significant advantage over their competitors, they faced issues with cornering.

[5] In addition to using the rare four-wheel-drive system in Formula One, it was also decided that the car's body would have a radical, angular shape, and mallite – a type of laminate – would be used in its construction.

Unlike other four-wheel-drive Formula One cars, Cosworth did not use the Ferguson transmission system but instead employed their own (designed by Keith Duckworth), and they also developed a new gearbox.

[1] Casting the engine in magnesium was also intended to reduce its weight, and the resulting gains were used to add extra components to the drivetrain.

[8] The gearbox was equipped with a shaft that transmitted power to the central differential, which was angled and positioned to the right of the driver;[3] because of this, the cockpit was slightly shifted to the left.

If we had all thought a bit longer, we would probably have realized that due to the prevailing trends at the time, four-wheel drive wasn't practical.The car had two designs.

[8] In 1969, there was a surge of interest in 4WD cars in Formula One; in addition to the Cosworth 4WD, that year saw the introduction of other four-wheel-drive vehicles, including the McLaren M9A, Lotus 63, and Matra MS84.

[3] Although there were initial plans to enter the car in the British Grand Prix, further development and testing were abandoned due to the ongoing problems with the model and Herd's departure to March Engineering.

The 4WD system, combined with the magnesium-cast engine, was described by Formula One journalists as representing forward-thinking for 1969, though this was not matched by the car's clunky chassis design.