In recent weeks, it seems like the Cosworth name seems to be everywhere. For SEMA 2012 alone, the storied British tuner is collaborating on variants of the Ford Focus ST, the Hyundai Veloster Turbo and the Hyundai Genesis.

It’s involved in Formula One, too, providing engines to also-ran teams HRT and Marussia, and while best known for its long association with Ford, has branched out in recent years to work with automakers like Subaru and Mazda.

Purchased from Ford by Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe in 2004, Cosworth struggled through some hard times in 2006, when it lost the contract to supply engines to Formula One. The silver lining of that particular dark cloud was that  Cosworth was forced to branch out, and today enjoys success in the aerospace industry as well.

Now comes word from The Telegraph that Forsythe and Kalkhoven have put Cosworth, in its entirety, up for sale. As Tim Routsis, Cosworth’s CEO, explains, “We have been paused for the last 18 months and the board has decided that we can not wait any longer otherwise we risk losing momentum.”

Put another way, Cosworth isn’t expected to be worth more in the immediate future that it is today, so the time is right to sell. One likely buyer could be Rolls-Royce, who has been a client of Cosworth’s aerospace business for several years. Another potential suitor mentioned was GKN, a global engineering group with automotive and aerospace interests.

This much is clear, though: given the worldwide economic downturn, and the renewed focus on fuel economy over performance, Cosworth as an automotive business may not have that much appeal. After losing Lola Cars this year, we’d hate to imagine a world without Cosworth, too.