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| Fast Forerunner: The Jensen Interceptor and FF |
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| Written by Aaron Severson |
| Saturday, 06 June 2009 00:00 |
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If you read some popular automotive histories, you might be misled into thinking that the 1980 Audi Quattro was the world's first all-wheel-drive sports coupe. Not so -- the "ur-Quattro" was an important pioneer in the field of AWD performance cars, but it was not first. Almost 15 years before the Quattro, the tiny British automaker Jensen introduced a powerful GT car featuring full-time four-wheel drive and even anti-lock brakes. THE JENSEN BROTHERSEngland in the 1920s and 1930s abounded with small automakers, as enthusiastic young entrepreneurs like William Lyons tried their hand at building cars. Many of these small firms began as what today we would call tuners; others were coachbuilders, developing bespoke bodywork for existing chassis. Some eventually graduated to building chassis of their own, although most relied on engines purchased from larger companies like Austin or Standard.
Alan and Richard Jensen were brothers, born in Moseley, Birmingham in the early 1900s. Like many young men of their time, they developed a love of cars from an early age. Of the two, Dick was more focused on engineering, while Alan's talents ran to business and administration, but they shared a common interest, and they worked well together. In 1928, they built their first car, dubbed Jensen Special Number One, based on a 1923 Austin Seven "Chummy." In 1931, the Jensen brothers became managing directors of the coachbuilder W.J. Smith & Sons. When William Smith died in 1936, the brothers assumed full control of the firm, which they renamed Jensen Motors, Ltd. Although Jensen's bread and butter was commercial and military vehicles, they also built sports-luxury cars for well-heeled buyers. Some of these were very successful, like the "White Lady," built on a Ford V8 chassis for American film star Clark Gable, but Jensen never had the resources to develop their own engines, the way Jaguar eventually did. THE AMERICAN SOLUTIONSome of Jensen's 1930s cars had used Ford engines and running gear, but the brothers subsequently forged a longstanding relationship with Leonard Lord of the Austin Motor Company. Through the late 1950s, most Jensen cars used Austin engines, principally the big 4.0 L (244 cu. in.) six. By the late 1950s, however, the Jensen brothers were again looking across the Atlantic for potential engines.
Since the introduction of Oldsmobile and Cadillac's overhead-valve V8s in 1949, American automakers had been rolling out a litany of compact, powerful modern engines. Unlike the hotter European engines, most American V8s were modestly tuned, which made them tractable and reasonably reliable. The main drawback of the American engines was that they ran afoul of displacement-based taxable horsepower rating systems, making them very expensive to own. They were also rather thirsty by local standards; British and European fuel prices were already far higher than in the states. For Jensen, though, the draw of the big Yankee V8s was strong. Even a quite-ordinary American engine had a certain tinge of exoticism, not to mention the allure of cheap horsepower. Jensens were expensive cars to begin with, and the firm's well-heeled customers were less likely to balk at the tax and fuel costs. The Jensens originally hoped to purchase Chrysler's "Firepower" hemi V8 for their 1961 541S model, but by then, Chrysler had discontinued the hemi in favor of the wedge-head "B" engine. The 541S ended up using the old Austin six, but the Jensen brothers worked out a deal to purchase Chrysler B engines for their next new model, the 1962 C-V8.  Early C-V8s used Chrysler's 5.9 L (361 cu. in.) engine, but when Chrysler dropped it in 1963, Jensen substituted the larger 6.3 L (383 cu. in.) version. Most C-V8s had Chrysler's excellent TorqueFlite automatic, and were scorching performers. Jensen was not the only European manufacturer to use Chrysler engines; the French Facel Vega and Switzerland's Monteverdi did, too. (Photo © 2008 Martin Alford; used by permission) NEW BLOODAlan and Dick Jensen were not in great health by the late fifties, and the success of their core business was highly variable. In 1959, Alan Jensen signed a partnership with the Norcros Group holding company, trading some of the brothers' managerial control for financial support. Alan also arranged a deal for Jensen to assemble Volvo's new P1800 coupe, which would provide much-needed additional income. Unfortunately, P1800s built in Jensen's West Bromwich factory suffered serious quality-control problems that soured the company's relationship with Volvo, and the contract was terminated early.
Despite that financial setback, Jensen still needed a replacement for the C-V8 coupe. The Jensen brothers favored a new in-house design, known as P66, which was to be styled by Jensen chief designer Eric Neale. Chief engineer Kevin Beattie and managing director Brian Owen favored commissioning a design from an Italian coachbuilder, to be built on the existing C-V8 chassis. The Jensens objected, but the board overruled them in favor of Owen and Beattie. Milan's Carrozzeria Touring was hired to design the new car. The brothers' defeat was a sign that their influence over the company was rapidly diminishing. Alan had stepped down from day-to-day operations in 1963, although he remained on the board until 1967, when both he and Dick finally bowed out for good. Dick Jensen, however, stayed on long enough to push through his last great pet project: the FF. FORMULA FERGUSONIrish businessman Harry Ferguson made his fortune in farm tractors, but like the Jensen brothers, his first loves were cars and racing. In 1950, he launched a new automotive engineering firm called Harry Ferguson Research Ltd., hiring ex-Aston Martin engineer Claude Hill and racing drivers Freddie Dixon and Tony Rolt to run it. In 1953, Ferguson sold his tractor firm to Massey-Harris so he could devote his full energy on the new firm.
Ferguson's abiding interest was in promoting four-wheel drive for automotive use. Four-wheel-drive trucks and all-terrain vehicles were fairly common, but Ferguson believed 4WD could be used to make passenger cars safer, as well. To demonstrate his point, he, Hill, Dixon, and Rolt developed Project 99, a Formula 1 car equipped with their new 4WD transmission system. Harry Ferguson died in November 1960, but the Ferguson P99 soon made a promising debut in Formula 1. Stirling Moss used it to win the 1961 Oulton Park Gold Cup, although four-wheel drive was subsequently banned from Formula 1, making it a somewhat Pyrrhic victory. Nevertheless, Ferguson's company held out great hopes of offering their 4WD system in street cars.  Sir Sterling Moss behind the wheel of the 4WD Ferguson P99 Climax F1 car, at the 2005 Goodwood Speed Festival. (Photo © 2005 Anthony Fosh; used by permission)
THE FF SYSTEMThe Ferguson system, known as Formula Ferguson, or FF, was what would now be called a full-time four-wheel drive system. A central differential, mounted behind the transmission, used a chain-driven take-off shaft to send 37% of the engine's torque to the front wheels. A two-way clutch would lock the differential if either front or rear wheels began to slip, forcing them to rotate at the same speed. Unlike the transfer case of a 4WD truck, the Ferguson transmission could be used on dry pavement without binding. The system dramatically improved wet-weather handling, and even in the dry, it allowed the car's power to be exploited in turns in ways that would be foolhardy on a conventional rear-drive vehicle.
The other component of the FF system, which was just as revolutionary, was anti-lock brakes: the Dunlop Maxaret system. Introduced in 1952 for use on heavy aircraft, Maxaret used a mechanical flywheel on the driveshaft to detect wheel slip during braking and open a valve that briefly relieved vacuum pressure in the master cylinder. In essence, it prevented skidding by automatically "pumping" the brakes up to three times a second. Highly skilled drivers did this as a matter of course, but the system promised to allow even amateur drivers to stop like experts. The combination of full-time 4WD and anti-lock brakes was bleeding-edge technology for the early sixties, but it represented a great advance in road performance and active safety (accident avoidance), just as Harry Ferguson had hoped. FERGUSON AND JENSENDick Jensen, Brian Owen, and Kevin Beattie were all very excited about the FF system, and they wanted to get involved. Offering full-time 4WD and ABS would make Jensen stand out in a crowded market segment, and it would earn a great deal of publicity. Alan Jensen, always the more fiscally responsible of the brothers, did not like the idea, fearing its enormous costs and unproven reliability, but his protests fell on deaf ears. In 1964, Jensen Motors signed an agreement with Harry Ferguson Research for the exclusive rights to offer the FF system on passenger cars with engines over 3.5 liters (215 cu. in.).
By the fall of 1965, the company had a prototype 4WD C-V8, which was shown at the Earls Court show. The reaction was enthusiastic, but Jensen was forced to tell prospective customers that no production car was yet available. Behind the scenes, Beattie and the engineers at Ferguson were working overtime to prepare the system for use with the C-V8’s replacement, the new Interceptor. INTERCEPTORJensen’s new interceptor debuted at the Earls Court exhibition in October 1966. Riding the same chassis as the C-V8 and sharing its big American engine, it was otherwise a very conventional GT, with rear-wheel drive and a leaf-sprung rear axle. Its Italian styling had panache, but it was not exactly sleek, and it bore a certain (likely coincidental) resemblance to the unloved 1964-1966 Plymouth Barracuda. The Interceptor's main mechanical virtues were the raw power of the big 6.2 L (383 cu in) Chrysler V8 -- a claimed 325 gross horsepower (242 kW) -- and the fine TorqueFlite automatic, which was far better than the wretched Borg-Warner autoboxes offered by Jaguar and Aston Martin.
 Front-fender vents were a trademark of all Interceptors. The split-level front bumper marks this as a later Mark III; this is a 1976 Convertible. Although the Interceptor rode the same chassis as the C-V8, it was bodied in steel, rather than fiberglass, and was therefore significantly heavier: around 3,700 pounds (1,678 kg) all up. It was inevitably slower than the last Mark III C-V8s, although it still had formidable performance: 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in just over 7 seconds, a top speed of more than 130 mph (210 kph).  Some very early Interceptors were built in Italy by Vignale, although most were constructed in Jensen's West Bromwich factory. From late 1971 on, the original 6.3 L (383 cu. in.) Chrysler engine was replaced by the bigger 7.2 L (440 cu. in.) "RB" engine. Despite the extra capacity, it had lower compression and added smog controls, which rendered it little more powerful than the engine it replaced. The exception was a handful of SP models, which had three two-barrel carburetors and a claimed 385 hp (287 kW). Despite the extra power, the SP was actually more fuel efficient than the standard Interceptor in normal driving, although it could be a handful when the power came on. Unfortunately, despite its performance and luxurious appointments, the early Interceptor was clumsily built and finished, particularly considering its stratospheric price. At £3,743 (about $10,500 at contemporary exchange rates), the Interceptor cost about twice as much as an E-Type Jaguar -- and as much as a decent house in many parts of England. Some of its early problems were eventually addressed, but others dogged the Interceptor for the rest of its production life. Even if it had been better assembled, the Interceptor would have been greatly overshadowed by its more glamorous sibling, the FF.  The Interceptor is about the size of a contemporary Pontiac Firebird, but it was very large by contemporary European standards: 188 inches long (4,775 mm) on a 105 in (2,670 mm) wheelbase. Later Interceptor Series 4 and 5 models (this is a Series 4) had bigger bumpers to meet U.S. crash standards. THE JENSEN FFDespite the enthusiasm of Jensen management, there was no chance of making the 4WD system and Maxaret standard on all Interceptors; it was simply too expensive. Instead, Jensen offered a separate version of the Interceptor with the Ferguson system, dubbed FF.
The FF, which debuted in the fall of 1966, looked much like the Interceptor on which it was based, save for an extra louver on each front fender. Underneath, it was a different story. The FF shared the Interceptor's engine and transmission, but body and frame had to be modified extensively and the wheelbase stretched to accommodate the Ferguson center differential and Maxaret hardware. The FF was inevitably heavier than the standard Interceptor, making it somewhat slower, although it was still capable of reaching 60 mph (96 kph) in less than eight seconds. Its handling, however, was of a different order entirely, particularly in the wet. Even with vintage bias-ply tires, the FF was far more assured in bad weather than almost any other contemporary GT, and its traction allowed a skilled driver to make full use of the Interceptor's impressive power. The Maxaret system, meanwhile, helped prevent skids on hard braking, although many contemporary drivers found its operation disconcerting.  The last-of-the-line Mark III Series 4 and Series 5 cars had a new wood dashboard, introduced first on the convertible and added to the rest of the line in 1975. By this time, air conditioning was standard, along with a full set of Jaeger instruments and the TorqueFlite automatic. Alas, to each of the FF's virtues, we must append "when it was working." The FF suffered many of the same quality-control problems as the Interceptor, plus a host of mechanical reliability issues of its own. Despite Ferguson's mass-market ambitions, each FF gearbox was more of a hand-built prototype than a production unit, with many unexplored weaknesses. A particular bugbear was the front hubs, which were barely adequate for their share of the big V8's torque. They were redesigned four times, and weren't adequately sorted until three years after the FF went on sale. The Maxaret system, meanwhile, had its own problems, including a penchant for freezing up in cold weather. Inevitably, the FF was also extremely expensive. Prices started at a whopping £5,340 (about $15,000 in contemporary dollars) -- about 30% more than a standard Interceptor, which was itself not cheap. Although the FF's technical novelty attracted wealthy celebrities, Jensen quietly steered them toward the standard Interceptor, fearing negative publicity. The company also limited exports, preferring to keep the complex FF within easy reach of factory service. As a result, sales were very slow.  This is one of the final, Mark III-based FFs, which ended production in 1971, after only about 15 had been built. Other than the extra fender vent, the FF looks very much like the Interceptor, although it was somewhat longer -- 191 inches (4,851 mm) on a 109-inch (2,769-mm) wheelbase -- to make room for the bulky 4WD differential. FFs are around 300 pounds (136 kg) heavier than a contemporary Interceptor, dulling performance somewhat. (Photo © 2008 Martin Alford; used by permission) MUSICAL CHAIRSDick Jensen resigned from the Jensen board in 1967, and Alan quickly followed him. With the Jensens gone, the board hired an American corporate troubleshooter, Carl Duerr, as the new managing director. Duerr quickly assessed the company's financial situation, and arranged to sell the firm to the merchant bank William Brandt, Sons and Company, Ltd. Duerr also turned his attention to Jensen's production problems, improving both output and assembly quality. Duerr's management style won the support of the workforce, which had become dispirited in recent years, but it made the board uneasy. He was gone by 1970.
Before his departure, Duerr oversaw the 1969 introduction of the Interceptor II, which featured various mechanical improvements, including a refined front suspension, better Girling disc brakes, power steering, optional air conditioning, and various safety fittings to conform to new American regulations. The emphasis on U.S. requirements reflected a new focus on exports, which had previously accounted for only a small percentage of Jensen sales. Indeed, in 1970, Jensen was purchased by one of its leading distributors, Norwegian-born American importer Kjell Qvale. Qvale soon pushed for increased production of the Interceptor, although he was far more interested in the development of a new roadster, which emerged as the short-lived Jensen-Healey sports car.  Bulky glass hatchback added a certain amount of versatility to the Interceptor, but the large glass area and the steel body conspired to make it very heavy compared to the fiberglass-bodied C-V8. The short-lived Coupé, introduced in late 1975, omitted the hatch in favor of a notchback profile. Coupés used the chassis of the Convertible, but their assembly was jobbed out to Panther Cars Ltd.
The Interceptor III, another evolutionary revision of the Interceptor, launched in the fall of 1971. It sold at around twice the rate of its predecessors, despite even higher prices (£6,981 by 1973, $15,500 in America) and detuned, emissions-controlled engines. It found favor with the rich and famous, including John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, and ended up featured in a variety of period movies. In many respects, it was the car the Interceptor should have been when it bowed back in 1966, although it was still far from trouble-free. It was slower, too; Road & Track's 1973 test car took more than 10 seconds seconds to reach 60 mph (97 kph), reflecting the detoxed Interceptor's modest 220 hp (164 kW) and 4,020 lb (1,824 kg) of curb weight. The FF, meanwhile, was on its last legs. By the time the Mark III version was introduced, most of its major flaws had been addressed, if not resolved, but buyers were still wary. Sales flatlined, and Jensen could no longer justify the expensive of producing it. About 15 Interceptor III-based FFs were built in 1971, but that was the end of the line. Sales for all five years totaled only 320.  By the end of the Interceptor III's run, a 7.2 L (440 cu. in.) had become standard, with a claimed 280 horsepower (209 kW). Alas, weight had ballooned to over two tons -- a Convertible ran to 4,225 lb (1,917 kg) -- so performance was somewhat muted.
ALL FALL DOWNKjell Qvale had improved Jensen's fortunes temporarily, but by 1974, things were again looking grim. Qvale's Jensen-Healey roadster was proving to be an expensive boondoggle, while sales of the Interceptor were hurt badly by the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, which made big, fuel-swilling cars decidedly unfashionable.
Jensen tried to retrench with "Series 4" Interceptors and a new convertible, launched in March 1974, but the company still ended 1974 deep in the red. By September 1975, Jensen was in receivership. The receiver allowed Jensen to continue building cars for a time, including a slightly revised Series 5 and a new notchback coupe, but the situation was untenable, and production finally ended in May 1976. Total production for the Interceptor was 6,407, not including FFs.  The Convertible was one of the most expensive of Interceptors, costing $25,812 in 1976. The factory advertised that the nearest competition was the Rolls-Royce Corniche, which cost twice as much, but the Jensen still cost as much as two 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertibles. Although production had ceased, the Jensen Parts & Service organization remained in operation to provide support for cars already sold. By the mid-eighties, the head of that organization, Ian Orford, decided to try building a few complete Interceptors, using the original tooling. The new cars, dubbed Interceptor Mark IV, still used a Chrysler engine, now the modern 5.9 L (360) small block. They sold in very limited numbers through 1992, but the organization went into receivership during the recession of the early nineties. A company called Creative Group later tried to develop a new Ford-powered Jensen in 1998, but production never materialized, and the venture collapsed by 2002.
SPIRITUAL HEIRSAfter the demise of the FF, Ferguson converted a few Ford Capris to 4WD for racing use (although racing drivers nixed the use of the Maxaret system) and got a few contracts from American police departments to convert their Plymouth patrol cars, but otherwise, the idea of a 4WD drive passenger car seemed to be stillborn. Then, in 1979, American Motors launched the Eagle, featuring an all-wheel-drive system derived from AMC's relationship with Jeep. Around the same time, Japanese automaker Subaru introduced a 4WD version of its compact Leone.
Neither of these cars was particularly sporting, but at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1980, Audi unveiled the first 4x4 sports coupe since the demise of the FF. Dubbed "quattro," it was a turbocharged, all-wheel-drive version of the Audi 80 Coupé. Like the Formula Ferguson system, Audi's quattro AWD was heavy, bulky, and expensive, but it imbued the Quattro with formidable all-weather performance. In due course, the "ur-Quattro," as its fans now call it, became an all-conquering rally competitor, and one of the world's fastest real-world cars.  The Quattro A2 was developed for Group B rally racing, and made its competition debut at the 1983 Tour de Corse. Although it had a 2.1 L (129 cu. in.) five-cylinder engine, like the street car, it was pushed to a formidable 380 hp (283 kW). The A2 was a formidable competitor in the 1984 season; it's seen here driven by Walter Röhrl at the Rally Portugal. (Photo © 1984 MPW57; released to the public domain by the photographer) For all its advanced technology, the early Quattro fell behind the FF in one respect: it did not add antilock brakes to its specification until 1984. The Quattro's electronically controlled Bosch ABS was far more sophisticated and more reliable than the FF's Dunlop Maxaret (which competition drivers had never liked), but it was another sign of just how advanced the FF really was back in 1966. The Quattro soon spawned a host of other high-powered AWD sports cars, like Porsche's fearsome twin-turbo 959. These were followed by more affordable all-wheel-drive coupes, like the Mitsubishi/Eagle "Diamond Star" turbo cars and the Subaru WRX. Most of those newer models are faster than the Jensen FF -- and even the most troublesome of them was probably more reliable -- but it was Ferguson and Jensen that paved the way. # # #
NOTES ON SOURCESThe basics of Jensen's history came from Richard Calver "Jensen history" (date unknown, http://www.richardcalver.com/ jensenhistory.htm, accessed 9 May 2009) and Wolverhampton Museum of Industry's overview "Jensen Cars" (no date, Wolverhampton Museum of Industry Transport Hall, http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/Cars/Jensen.htm, accessed 10 May 2009). The article "Jensen-Healey" by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (21 May 2007, HowStuffWorks.com, http://auto.howstuffworks.com/jensen-healey.htm, accessed 11 May 2009) provided additional background on Jensen in the seventies.
Background information on Harry Ferguson was based on the English-language bio on Gerrit Preuter's Dutch AnnaTEFka Website (date unknown, The AnnaTEFka Website, http://www.annatefka.com/mf_historie/e_doc_onder1.htm, accessed 9 May 2009) and the Ferguson Family Museum website (no date, http://www.ferguson-museum.co.uk/racing_car.htm, retrieved 10 May 2009). For background on the Dunlop Maxaret, we consulted a vintage article from Flight, 19 March 1954 issue (author unknown, Flight Global, http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1954/1954%20-%200725.html, accessed 11 May 2009). The Christchurch Aviation Society's pages on the de Havilland Sea Vixen, which used the system, contains several interesting reminiscences by Fleet Air Arm pilots (date unknown, http://www.christchurchavsoc.co.uk/seavixen-experiences.html, retrieved 12 May 2009). Information on the 541 came from Peter Wallis and Jane and Dave Turnage's Jensen 541 website (date unknown, http://www.jensen541.com/541history.htm, accessed 9 May 2009). For information on later models, we again referred to Richard Calver's work for information on the C-V8, Interceptor, and FF, consulting his "Marque history" articles, originally written in the nineties for Australia's The Interceptor magazine (precise dates unknown, http://www.richardcalver.com/marques.htm, accessed 9-11 May 2009). Additional basics on the history of the Interceptor came from "1966-1991 Jensen Interceptor" by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (23 October 2007, HowStuffWorks.com, http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1966-1991-jensen-interceptor1.htm, accessed 10 May 2009). We also consulted "Jensen Interceptor III," Road & Track, October 1973 (Vol. 25, No. 2), pp. 74-77. Our principal sources for the history of the FF were Richard Heseltine, "Fourplay," Classic & Sports Car, June 2001, pp. 108-111, and John Wild, The Jensen FF Homepage (17 July 2005, http://www.lupine.demon.co.uk/, accessed 9 May 2009), which includes photos of the drive layout and Maxaret system.
Comments (7)
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The Interceptor is on my list of potential Project Car Hell candidates.
My hope would be to find one in rough enough shape that the devotees wouldn't crucify me for rebuilding it as I see fit, rather than to (mediocre) original.
Engine and transmission parts would be easy to come by, it's all the little interior trim bits that I'd just as soon fabricate anew.