Unsung heroes: Jensen FF

Four-wheel-drive isn't just for off-roaders anymore and its use in road cars is now commonplace.
Everybody knows this idea began in 1980 with the Audi Quattro, which was the world's first four-wheel-drive performance car and is hailed as one of the biggest revolutions in automotive history, right? Wrong! That honour actually belongs to something rather less famous that was introduced some fourteen years earlier by a small-scale British manufacturer and is both an unsung hero and a dream car to me.

I'm talking about the Jensen FF, which was not only the first four-wheel-drive production road car but also the first to be fitted with anti-lock brakes and traction control, and introduced all this technology more than fifty years ago. If it was so impressively innovative, why isn't the FF better known and more revered in the annals of history? Read on to find out why this remarkable car just didn't make the impact it deserved and left Audi to lap up the applause over a decade later...

An all-wheel-drive performance car 14 years before the Quattro

Like the Gordon-Keeble, the Jensen Interceptor combined Italian style, British craftsmanship and a big American engine, in this case a 6.3-litre Chrysler V8, all wrapped up in the highest standards of luxury. The FF kept all of this but added the benefit of cutting-edge all-wheel-drive technology, which meant it had the same elegant Touring-designed bodywork and looked virtually identical to the casual observer. The wheelbase was five inches longer and the main visual difference was that the FF had two intake grilles in each front wing where the Interceptor only had one.

Under the skin it was very different though. The initials FF stood for Ferguson Formula, the trade name of the four-wheel-drive system that had been developed by Harry Ferguson of tractor fame, who saw the potential applications for this in road and race cars long before anyone else. The big Jensen couldn't really be any more unlike the 'little grey Fergie', yet they shared common ancestry; Harry Ferguson himself had passed away in 1960 but before his death he had reached an agreement with Jensen to use his company's technology on their cars. A race win in 1961 by the Ferguson P99 Grand Prix car fired public interest, and a prototype road car based on the outgoing Jensen C-V8 was built in 1964.

Looks like an Interceptor but those twin grilles hint at its secret

Launched in 1966, the FF was also equipped with Dunlop's pioneering Maxaret anti-lock braking system (which included an early form of traction control) in its first application on a car, having previously been used only on aircraft, trains and lorries, plus adjustable shock absorbers. We may take these features for granted now, but the FF boasted all this revolutionary technology over half a century ago! The press were full of praise, with Car magazine declaring it their Car of the Year in 1967 and Autocar considering it "the safest car in the world", a piece of hyperbole that showed their immense enthusiasm for the car. The FF handled much better than the nose-heavy Interceptor, and this wasn't just because of the extra technology but was also thanks to the engine being mounted right back against the bulkhead to accommodate the front drivetrain, which gave it near-perfect weight distribution.

They may have a lot in common but the Quattro and FF were developed for very different reasons: whereas the Audi was a competition machine, the Jensen was a grand tourer for long-distance cruising. Far from storming a muddy rally stage, its four-wheel-drive was intended to give better traction when driving into the Alps for a spot of skiing, and was marketed more as a safety feature than a performance enhancement, not that the Interceptor's performance was in any way disappointing to start with. The principle is exactly the same though, and it is understood that Audi actually bought an FF for their engineers to study when developing the Quattro.

The Quattro is rightfully famed but not as pioneering as many think

The FF's downfall was that it was designed for right-hand drive and couldn't be converted to left-hand drive without major re-engineering as the front driveshaft and transfer case protruded into the left side of the cockpit and there was nowhere to mount the steering column on that side. This scuppered exports to countries that drive on the right, and since the USA was Jensen's biggest market it was a major blow to the sales figures. Being on the cutting edge of technology didn't come cheap either and the FF cost some 30% more than the already very expensive Interceptor, the sort of money that would have bought a nice house in the 1960s.

As a result, production ceased in 1971 after a mere 320 FFs were built compared with 20 times as many Interceptors, most of which stayed in the UK with a few going to other RHD markets and just one to America. That lack of export sales means the FF remains virtually unknown in the US and mainland Europe, whereas the Audi Quattro achieved worldwide fame through its exposure in international motorsport and took the credit for being the first four-wheel-drive road car that rightfully belongs to Jensen.

The FF in its natural habitat

While not exactly common, Interceptors do turn up fairly regularly at shows, but I have never seen an FF in the flesh and they are rare and sought-after even in the UK. The fact that so much of the technology we take for granted nowadays was pioneered on a car that celebrated its 50th birthday last year is quite astonishing, yet it never really received the amount of recognition and success it deserves as a true first and a similar car came along much later to take the credit. That's quite sad really so I feel the innovative and ahead of its time Jensen FF is a very fitting candidate to be my first unsung hero of 2017.