FF (Ferguson Formula) Developments Limited (FFD) was a British company founded by Major A.P.R. (Tony) Rolt to exploit the 4WD 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 (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 4WD technology begun originally at Dixon-Rolt Developments in partnership with Freddie Dixon 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 and

Opel Senator The Opel Senator is a full-size executive car ( E-segment) produced by the German automaker Opel, two generations of which were sold in Europe from 1978 until 1993. A saloon, its first incarnation was also available with a fastback coupé body ...

cars used by

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

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 t ...

CF van. The company also engineered the prototype AMC Eagle, 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 Presses to develop an aftermarket conversion for the Range Rover. The result was the Schuler Super Ranger, which could outperform the standard Range Rover on and off-road. The car subsidiary was bought out of the parent company subsequently renamed Overfinch 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 word ...

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 coeff ...

, which led to subsequent 4WD Ford models and to licensing of the Ferguson Formula world-wide through patents holder GKN and mass production of the components by GKN German subsidiary Viscodrive Ferguson Formula 4WD was a key element in four Group B 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 introd ...

, the Lancia Delta S4, the Ford RS200 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 Gene ...

. 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 Following its sale to the automotive consultancy group Ricardo in 1994, the company was renamed Ricardo-FFD. Stuart Rolt remained the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

until 1996.

Projects

* Ford RS200 - 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 ...

220 mph supercar prototype which was shown for the first time at the 1988 British International Motor Show. 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 The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

- 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 designated ...

- FFD manufactured the transmission system for the McLaren F1 supercar.

Notes

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