The Jensen FF is a

four-wheel drive 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 case ...

grand tourer A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either ...

produced by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

car manufacturer Jensen Motors between 1966 and 1971. It was the first non all-terrain production car equipped with four-wheel drive and an

anti-lock braking system An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintaini ...

. The powertrain was sourced from Chrysler, installing the second generation V8 engine and 3-speed '' TorqueFlite A727''

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...

. The use of four-wheel drive in a passenger car preceded the successful

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 *** ...

by thirteen years, 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 ...

by fourteen years, and the

Subaru Leone The Subaru Leone is a compact car produced by the Japanese car manufacturer Subaru from 1971 to 1994. The word ''leone'' is Italian for lion. It was released as a replacement for the Subaru 1000 and was the predecessor of the Subaru Impreza. Al ...

by five years. The Dunlop

Maxaret Dunlop's Maxaret was the first anti-lock braking system (ABS) to be widely used. Introduced in the early 1950s, Maxaret was rapidly taken up in the aviation world, after testing found a 30% reduction in stopping distances, and the elimination of ...

mechanical anti-lock braking system had previously been used only on

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

lorries A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

, and racing cars. An experimental version was first fitted to the earlier

Jensen C-V8 The Jensen C-V8 is a four-seater GT car produced by Jensen Motors between 1962 and 1966. Launched in October 1962, the C-V8 series had fibreglass bodywork with aluminium door skins, as did the preceding 541 series. All C-V8s used big-block en ...

, but this did not go into production. The letters FF stand for ''Ferguson Formula'', after

Ferguson Research Ltd. Harry Ferguson Research Limited was a British company founded by Harry Ferguson who was mostly known as "the father of the modern farm tractor". He was also a pioneer aviator, becoming one of the first to build and fly his own aeroplane in Irela ...

, who invented the car's four-wheel drive system. The FF is related to the similar-looking,

rear-wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel ...

Jensen Interceptor The Jensen Interceptor is a grand touring car which was hand-built at the Kelvin Way Factory in West Bromwich, near Birmingham in England, by Jensen Motors between 1966 and 1976. The Interceptor name had been used previously by Jensen for the ...

, but is longer, and mechanically very different. Standard FF features included front

seat belt A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduc ...

s, a

tachometer A tachometer (revolution-counter, tach, rev-counter, RPM gauge) is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute (RPM) on a calibrated anal ...

, and map pockets.http://www.british-steel.org/brochure/ff/ffa_1_l.jpg

Reception and sales

Although it was a highly innovative vehicle in a technical sense, the FF was not commercially successful. Its price was high — about 30% higher than the Jensen Interceptor, and more than that of luxury GTs from much more prestigious makers. In the UK a reputed 320 to 330 examples of the Jensen FF V8 model were made by Jensen Motors Limited according to The Jensen Owners Club. The FF also suffered from a design problem, and not one easily cured: the system was set up for a driver in the right-hand seat, and no considerations had been made to making it left-hand drive. In particular, the central

transfer case A transfer case is a part of the drivetrain of four-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive, and other multiple powered axle vehicles. The transfer case transfers power from the transmission to the front and rear axles by means of drive shafts. It also syn ...

and both propeller shafts protruded into the left-hand seat space. The

steering Steering is a system of components, linkages, and other parts that allows a driver to control the direction of the vehicle. Introduction The most conventional steering arrangement allows a driver to turn the front wheels of a vehicle using ...

gear and

brake A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

servo Servo may refer to: Mechanisms * Servomechanism, or servo, a device used to provide control of a desired operation through the use of feedback ** AI servo, an autofocus mode ** Electrohydraulic servo valve, an electrically operated valve that c ...

were fitted on the right-hand side, and there was no space for them on the left. By the early 1970s, Jensen's primary markets were in overseas markets where cars were driven on the right-hand side of the road. The FF could not be sold in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Appearance

The FF may be distinguished from the Interceptor by a few styling cues, the most obvious being the twin (rather than single) diagonal air vents on the front wing, just rear of the wheel-arches. The frontal appearance was revised in September 1968. Only coupés were made; there were no

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...

Derivatives

One experimental Ferguson FF was built in 1968 with a 7-litre (426 cubic inch)

Hemi engine A hemispherical combustion chamber is a type of combustion chamber in a reciprocating internal combustion engine with a domed cylinder head notionally in the approximate shape of a hemisphere (in reality usually a spheric section thereof). An en ...

imported from

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

in the U.S. Further Hemi engine equipped models were not built, due to the limits of the

suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...

at extremely high speeds, and the cost of importing the Hemi engine into Britain, which was deemed too great. An "SP FF" version is rumoured to have been made at some point in the production run. This version was equipped with a 7.2-litre (440 cubic inch) engine with a "Six Pack" induction system (three 2-barrel

carburettors A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meterin ...

) as well as four-wheel drive. Less than ten are thought to have been built.

Models

Dinky Toys Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast toy, die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model model car, vehicles produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpo ...

produced a die-cast model of the FF, available in both ready-constructed and kit form. Playart also produced a 1:64 scale FF, possibly scaled down from the Dinky model. The Dinky car had opening doors and both the Playart and Dinky models featured an opening bonnet (hood).

References

External links

History and photographsDedicated website
{{Jensen Motors timeline FF All-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 1966 1970s cars Grand tourers