FF (Ferguson Formula) Developments Limited (FFD) was a British company founded by Major A.P.R. (Tony) Rolt to exploit the

4WD Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer ca ...

technology begun originally at Dixon-Rolt Developments in partnership with Freddie Dixon and, from 1950 at Harry Ferguson Research. Rolt became Technical Director at Harry Ferguson Research until 1971, when the company was closed down. According to

Ward's Auto World Ward's is an American organization that has covered the automotive industry for over 80 years. The organization is responsible for several publications including, ''Ward's AutoWorld'', and ''Ward's Dealer Business''. Ward's also publish the an ...

the influence that FFD had on

all wheel drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one w ...

(AWD) development transcended its size.

History

The company was founded in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

in 1971 by Tony Rolt. to exploit the

technology begun originally at Dixon-Rolt Developments in partnership with

Freddie Dixon Frederick William Dixon (21 April 1892 – 4 November 1956) was an English motorcycle racer and racing car driver. The designer of the motorcycle and banking sidecar system, he was also one of the few motorsport competitors to have been success ...

and, from 1950 at Harry Ferguson Research. FFD developed a number of prototype cars with the aim of selling the technology to car makers, much as Harry Ferguson Research had done after Ferguson's death. This included one of two

Triumph Stag The Triumph Stag is a 2+2 sports tourer which was sold between 1970 and 1978 by the Triumph Motor Company, styled by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti. Design and styling Envisioned as a luxury sports car, the Stag was designed to compete ...

s. One of their first successful conversions was for the

Opel Admiral The Opel Admiral is a luxury car made by the German car manufacturer Opel from 1937 until 1939 and again from 1964 until 1977. Admiral (1937–1939) The first Admiral was introduced early in 1937 at the Berlin Motor Show, although production ...

and Opel Senator cars used by

BRIXMIS The British Commanders'-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany (BRIXMIS) was a Military liaison missions, military liaison mission which operated behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany during the Cold War. BRIXMIS existed from 1946 – ...

in Berlin, followed by Vauxhall-Bedford approved conversions of the

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

CF van. The company also engineered the prototype

AMC Eagle AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

, the first mass produced car in the world to feature full-time 4WD. In 1981 Rolt's son, Stuart, joined the company as Marketing Director, becoming Chief Executive in 1986. In 1983, FFD teamed up with the management of the British branch

Schuler Schuler, also Schüler, Shuler, and Shuhler, is a surname. The German word ''Schüler'' directly translates to the English word ''scholar'' and can also mean "pupil". Notable people with the surname include: * Anthony Joseph Schuler, American Roman ...

Presses to develop an aftermarket conversion for the Range Rover. The result was the Schuler Super Ranger, which could outperform the standard

Range Rover Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to ...

on and off-road. The car subsidiary was bought out of the parent company subsequently renamed

Overfinch Overfinch is a company that customises Land Rover and Range Rover cars and is based in Leeds, England. In 2005, Overfinch won the Ford "Special Recognition for Outstanding Achievement in Design" award for the SuperSport styling package. Hist ...

The arrival of the

Audi Quattro The Audi Quattro is a road and rally car, produced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi, part of the Volkswagen Group. It was first shown at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show on 3 March. Production continued through 1991. Background The wo ...

opened the word's eyes to the advantages of 4WD. This prompted Ford's Bob Lutz to commission a 4WD

Ford Sierra The Ford Sierra is a mid-size car or large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford Europe from 1982-1993, designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément — and noted for its aerodynamic styling producing a drag coeffi ...

, which led to subsequent 4WD Ford models and to licensing of the Ferguson Formula world-wide through patents holder

GKN GKN Ltd is a British multinational automotive and aerospace components business headquartered in Redditch, England. It is a long-running business known for many decades as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. It can trace its origins back to 1759 an ...

and mass production of the components by

German subsidiary Viscodrive Ferguson Formula 4WD was a key element in four

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...

rally cars, the

Peugeot 205 T16 The Peugeot 205 is a supermini (B-segment) car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1983 to 1999. It was declared "car of the decade" by ''CAR Magazine'' in 1990. It also won ''What Car?s Car of the Year for 1984. The 205 was intro ...

, the

Lancia Delta S4 The Lancia Delta S4 is a Group B rally car manufactured by the Italian car company Lancia. The Delta S4 competed in the World Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986, until Group B class was disbanded and the cars were eventually banned from competi ...

, the

Ford RS200 The Ford RS200 is a mid-engined, four-wheel drive sports car that was produced by Ford Motorsport in Boreham, UK, from 1984 to 1986. The road-going RS200 was the basis for Ford's Group B rally car and was designed to comply with FIA homologati ...

and the

MG Metro 6R4 The Metro is a supermini car, later a city car that was produced by British Leyland (BL) and, later, the Rover Group from 1980 to 1998. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin mini Metro. It was intended to complement and eventually replace the M ...

. It was also used in the

Lancia Delta Integrale The Lancia Delta is a small family car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia in three generations. The first generation (1979-1994) debuted at the 1979 Frankfurt Motor Show, the second generation (1993-1999) debuted at the 1993 Gen ...

. In 1990 the company opened an engineering centre in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

.{{cite web, title=Chairman's profile: Stuart Rolt, url=http://www.brdc.co.uk/sub_page.cfm/title/Chairman's%20Profile/section/home/editID/56, publisher=the

British Racing Drivers' Club The British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) is an exclusive invitation-only members club for racecar drivers who are judged to have achieved success in the upper levels of motor sport for a number of seasons. Except under exceptional circumstances, me ...

Following its sale to the automotive consultancy group

Ricardo Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name *Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...

in 1994, the company was renamed Ricardo-FFD. Stuart Rolt remained the CEO until 1996.

Projects

- FFD built the driveline for all 200 cars *

XR4x4 - FFD partnered with Ford Europe to develop the drivetrain * Jaguar - FFD designed and developed the AWD system used on the

Jaguar XJ220 The Jaguar XJ220 is a two-seat sports car produced by British luxury car manufacturer Jaguar from 1992 until 1994, in collaboration with the specialist automotive and race engineering company Tom Walkinshaw Racing. The XJ220 recorded a top s ...

220 mph

supercar A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

prototype which was shown for the first time at the 1988

British International Motor Show The British International Motor Show is an annual motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders between 1903 and 2008 in England, and as The British Motor Show since 2021 by Automotion Events. Initially held in London at T ...

. Produced the transmission for the production 2WD car. * Bedford CF2 4x4 - This was a joint collaboration between Vauxhall Motors and FFD offering automatic four wheel drive, a two speed transfer box and high rise option. * General Motors - FFD designed and developed the AWD system used on the 1990 Chevrolet Astro/GMC Safari van. *

McLaren Cars McLaren Automotive (formerly known as McLaren Cars) is a British luxury automotive manufacturer based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England. The main products of the company are supercars, which are produced in-house in designat ...

- FFD manufactured the transmission system for the

McLaren F1 The McLaren F1 is a sports car designed and manufactured by British automobile manufacturer McLaren Cars, and powered by the BMW S70/2 V12 engine. The original concept was conceived by Gordon Murray. Murray was able to convince Ron Dennis to ...

supercar.

Notes

Auto parts suppliers of the United Kingdom Automotive transmission makers Automotive motorsports and performance companies Technology companies established in 1971