The Jensen FF - “Here is a car which can be driven as no car has ever been driven”.

You are looking at a car that was so far removed from the everyday motoring sights of the UK in the late 1960s that it was virtual science-fiction to the average driver. This is a 1968 Jensen FF Mk. I belonging to www. https://cropredybridge.com and when the model debuted in 1966, it was the world’s first 4WD non-off-road vehicle. And there are so many more facets to this incredible vehicle:

1. FF stands for “Ferguson Formula”, developed by the tractor manufacturer Harry Ferguson. 
2. The FF also features a Dunlop Maxaret anti-lock braking system originally developed for aeronautical use.
3. The engine for the FF is a 6.3-litre Chrysler OHV V8 engine with three-speed Torque-Flite automatic transmission. It produces 425lbs of torque split between 37% at the front and 63% at the rear.
4. To allow four-wheel traction and superior road manners, the FF’s 4WD system employs a spin-limiting differential.
5. Compared with the Interceptor, the FF is four inches longer and had double - as opposed to single - vents on the front wings.
6. Ferguson’s interest in 4WD dated back to 1948 when he backed a system developed by Freddie Dixon and Tony Rol for their ‘Crab’ project car.
7. In 1959 Ferguson unveiled their R5 prototype, a 100-mph estate car and on the 8th of July 1961 their P99 4WD Formula One Grand Prix racing car competed at Silverstone.
8. On the 31st of December 1964, Richard Jensen signed an agreement with Ferguson Research Ltd for the exclusive use of their 4WD system in a Jensen production car.
9. Jensen display a Regal Red C-V8 FF prototype at the 1965 London Motor Show.
10. One 1965-vintage advertisement claimed the CV8 FF “excels with a tranquil arrogance you deserve to experience”.

11.  Jensen planned the CV8 FF to enter production in early 1966 but “supply difficulties” prevented this.
12. The FF Mk. I debuted on the 11th of October 1966, and the launch brochure claimed, with justifiable pride: “The Jensen FF with its revolutionary 4-wheel drive and aviation developed anti-skid braking system, blends speed and safety as never before. Here is a car which can be driven as no car has ever been driven”.
13. The standard equipment included ‘Selectraride’ adjustable shock absorbers, leather upholstery, an adjustable steering column, a radio with a power-operated aerial, electric windows and even a removable carpeted wooden footrest for the front passenger footwell. 
14. The potential buyer would have to be fairly affluent to follow the advertisement's invitation and call TATe Gallery 3195 to “Make a Date” with the FF. On launch it cost £5,339 19s 9d, £1,597 more than an Interceptor. 
15. To put these figures in context, in 1966 a Rover 2000TC was £1,415, a Triumph 2000 cost £1,198 and a Ford Zodiac Mk. IV would set you back £1,241. 
16. The Jensen FF also cost more than ten Austin/Morris Mini De Luxes.
17. Autocar found: “Steering the Jensen FF into a corner is uncanny, because the car seems to pull itself round with a combination of all the best front-drive and rear drive characteristics”.
18. Motor thought the FF “quite simply, the best handling car of its size and power we have tested, with tremendous cornering power, wet or dry”.
19. Famous FF owners included Ginger Baker, Mick Fleetwood and John Bonham.
20.  A Jensen FF PR Car appeared in The World Beater, the final episode of The Saint. 
21. The film producer Elliott Kastner featured his own Conifer Green FF in the very groovy film The Ballad of Tam Lin.
22. Jensen facelifted the FF as the Series II in 1969. Autocar found “Even by luxury car standards, it is an astonishingly effortless car. When cruising at around 120 mph (122 mph on the clock), the power train is remarkably unobtrusive”.
23. As for a left-hand-drive FF, Jensen had always considered this option. However, Mark Dollery notes in his fascinating book Jensen V8: The Complete Story of the American-Powered Cars, this idea was abandoned in May 1970 after Kjell Qvale took control of the company. “Qvale always regarded the FF as having very limited marketing potential. There was a rather crude attempt to convert the FF to left-hand drive using a belted system, which worked by using part of the right-handside mechanism to drive a left-hand-side steering column, but the idea was impractical”.
24. Production ended in December 1971 after 320 units, including 15 last-of-the-line Series IIIs.
25. To quote Jensen: “Here is a car which can be driven as no car has ever been driven”.

With thanks to Mike Cantelo and  https://cropredybridge.com for their time.

With thanks to Mike Cantelo and https://cropredybridge.com for the permission to use the images in this blog.