Ferguson Research

Ferguson Research, formally Harry Ferguson Research Limited, was a British automotive engineering and development company established in 1950 by agricultural engineer and inventor Harry Ferguson, together with racing figures Tony Rolt and Freddie Dixon. Based in Surrey at first and later at Siskin Drive in Coventry, the company sought to turn Ferguson's interest in traction, safety and mechanical control systems into practical four-wheel-drive vehicles. The company's origins lay in ideas developed by Freddie Dixon during the 1930s for a highly secure family car combining four-wheel drive with four-wheel steering. Dixon's association with Ferguson and Tony Rolt eventually led to the formation of Dixon-Rolt Developments, into which Ferguson invested after the Second World War. Ferguson had substantial resources following his departure from the Massey-Harris business and a successful patent dispute with Ford in the United States. In 1950, the enterprise was reorganized as Harry Ferguson Research Limited, with Ferguson as chairman and Rolt and Dixon as directors. Ferguson Research initially hoped to design a complete four-wheel-drive family car and license the manufacturing rights to an established automobile producer. That objective proved difficult. The company developed prototypes and demonstrated the potential of four-wheel drive, but major manufacturers were unwilling to commit to the cost and complexity of production. Internal differences also emerged: Ferguson moved the business to Coventry, while Dixon opposed the relocation and left the company. After Ferguson's death in 1960, his son-in-law Tony Sheldon became chairman and redirected the company toward supplying four-wheel-drive systems that established car manufacturers could integrate into their own vehicles. Motorsport became the company's most visible development laboratory. Ferguson Research created the P99, a four-wheel-drive Formula One car powered by a Coventry-Climax engine. Entered by Rob Walker's team in 1961, it was driven by Stirling Moss to victory in the non-championship International Gold Cup at Oulton Park. The result remains historically notable as the only Formula One race victory by a four-wheel-drive car, although the P99's front-engine configuration was soon overtaken by lighter mid-engine designs. The company subsequently supplied or developed four-wheel-drive technology for additional racing projects, including Indianapolis cars, BRM's P67, and the Ferguson-equipped Lotus turbine cars. The road-car program produced the Jensen Interceptor FF, introduced in 1966. The FF used Ferguson's all-wheel-drive system and was among the earliest production cars to combine four-wheel drive with an anti-lock braking system. Its hand-built drivetrain and high price limited sales, but the model demonstrated that Ferguson's technology could be incorporated into a high-performance road car. Ferguson Research also converted Ford Mustangs and Ford Zephyr police vehicles for evaluation, while exploring possible production applications with Ford of Britain, including a proposed four-wheel-drive Capri. GKN acquired a stake in Ferguson Research in 1968 with the aim of developing four-wheel-drive systems suitable for volume production. Despite continuing engineering work and renewed interest in four-wheel drive during the late-1960s Formula One boom, the company did not secure a sufficiently successful mass-market automobile program. Changes in racing aerodynamics and tire technology reduced the competitive value of four-wheel drive in Formula One. In 1971, Sheldon concluded that continued expenditure was not producing adequate commercial results and closed Harry Ferguson Research. Tony Rolt remained committed to the road-car potential of the technology and established FF Developments later that year, carrying the engineering concept into a successor business.

Ferguson Research developed from a pre-war concept associated with racing driver and engineer Freddie Dixon. Dixon imagined a family vehicle with four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering, emphasizing stability and safety rather than merely sporting performance. His contacts with Harry Ferguson, whose tractor engineering work had made him an advocate of controlled traction and safer agricultural machinery, brought the concept to an investor with both technical experience and financial resources. Tony Rolt, an army officer and racing driver involved in maintaining ERA racing cars, also became part of the project. Dixon and Rolt formed Dixon-Rolt Developments, and Ferguson later invested in the enterprise after the war. Ferguson had left the business that became Massey Ferguson and had obtained substantial funds through a patent-infringement case involving Ford in the United States. In 1950, the company was formally established as Harry Ferguson Research Limited. Its first premises were in Redhill, Surrey, before operations moved to Ferguson's Coventry facilities. The company's central ambition was to create a practical four-wheel-drive family car and license the design to a major manufacturer. It struggled to persuade manufacturers to accept the cost, packaging demands and production risks associated with the system. Dixon disagreed with the Coventry move and departed, while Ferguson later separated from his former Massey Ferguson interests and constructed dedicated premises on Siskin Drive. Racing provided a way to publicize and test the technology. In 1960, Tony Rolt promoted the construction of a four-wheel-drive Formula One car using a Coventry-Climax engine. Ferguson died in October of that year, but the project continued. The resulting Ferguson P99 competed in British Formula One events during 1961 under Rob Walker's team. Stirling Moss drove it to victory in the International Gold Cup at Oulton Park in September 1961. Although the P99 did not become a successful World Championship entrant and was soon made technically obsolete by mid-engine designs, its Oulton Park result became a unique milestone: no other four-wheel-drive car has won a Formula One race. The firm continued to work on competition vehicles and drivetrain applications. It supplied a Novi-powered Indianapolis car for Andy Granatelli's STP organization, built the four-wheel-drive BRM P67 in 1964, and contributed its system to the Lotus 56 turbine Indy car and the related Lotus 56B Formula One project. The existing P99, fitted with a larger Coventry-Climax engine, was also used by Peter Westbury in the 1964 British Hillclimb Championship. These projects demonstrated engineering versatility but did not create a durable commercial business by themselves. Following Ferguson's death, his son-in-law Tony Sheldon became chairman and shifted the corporate emphasis toward licensing or supplying systems for production vehicles. Jensen Motors adopted the technology for the Interceptor FF, unveiled in 1966. The FF was a substantial technical achievement, but its hand-built drivetrain made it expensive and prevented it from becoming a high-volume product. Ferguson Research also converted Ford Mustangs and a group of Ford Zephyr Mk IV police vehicles. The latter conversions were assessed in the United Kingdom for possible public-sector, military or specialist applications. Ford of Britain considered four-wheel-drive versions of its Capri, but production and integration challenges prevented the proposal from reaching manufacture. GKN took a stake in the company in 1968, hoping to help industrialize four-wheel-drive systems for mass-produced cars. Four-wheel-drive interest also rose in Formula One around 1969 after several wet races encouraged teams to search for additional traction. Matra, Lotus and McLaren pursued four-wheel-drive designs, but only Matra used the Ferguson system among those cited. Improved tires, the emergence of aerodynamic wings and the lack of suitable wet-race opportunities weakened the case for the technology. Lotus made a final Ferguson-equipped attempt with the turbine-powered Lotus 56B in 1971, but it was not competitive. By 1971, Tony Sheldon judged that the company had spent too much on research without obtaining a sufficiently successful commercial result and closed Harry Ferguson Research. Tony Rolt continued to advocate four-wheel drive for road vehicles and founded FF Developments in the same year. Ferguson Research therefore ended as an operating company, but its engineering work influenced later discussions of automotive traction and helped establish four-wheel drive as a credible feature for both performance cars and specialized vehicles.

• 1971

  Harry Ferguson Research closes

  [1]Ferguson Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Tony Sheldon ends the company's operations after continued research fails to produce a satisfactory commercial outcome.

• 1969

  Four-wheel-drive Formula One interest peaks

  [1]Ferguson Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Several leading teams experiment with four-wheel-drive cars, while Ferguson systems are considered for production-car and police-vehicle applications.

• 1968

  GKN takes a stake

  [1]Ferguson Researchen.wikipedia.org

  GKN invests in Ferguson Research with the objective of developing four-wheel-drive systems for volume-produced cars.

• 1966

  Jensen Interceptor FF appears

  [1]Ferguson Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Jensen introduces the Interceptor FF, the best-known road-car application of Ferguson's four-wheel-drive system.

• 1964

  Expansion into additional racing programs

  [1]Ferguson Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Ferguson technology is used in the P99 hillclimb program, a Novi-powered Indianapolis project and BRM's four-wheel-drive P67.

• 1961

  Ferguson P99 wins the International Gold Cup

  [1]Ferguson Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Stirling Moss drives the Ferguson P99 to victory at Oulton Park in a non-championship Formula One race, the only Formula One race victory for a four-wheel-drive car.

• 1960

  Ferguson dies during the racing-car development period

  [1]Ferguson Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Harry Ferguson dies in October, while the company continues development of a four-wheel-drive Formula One car.

• 1950

  Harry Ferguson Research is established

  [1]Ferguson Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Harry Ferguson Research Limited is formed from the earlier Dixon-Rolt project, with Ferguson as chairman and Tony Rolt and Freddie Dixon as directors.

Specialist automotive engineering and motorsport technology company focused on improving vehicle traction, safety and performance through four-wheel drive.

• Automotive drivetrain technology

  Ferguson four-wheel-drive system

  The company's core engineering offering was a four-wheel-drive system intended for both competition and road vehicles. Ferguson Research pursued a design that could improve traction and stability without limiting the vehicle to agricultural or off-road use. The system was tested in racing cars, production-car conversions and specialist public-sector vehicles, and later adapted for licensing or integration by automobile manufacturers.

• Formula One racing car · 1961

  Ferguson P99

  The P99 was a Coventry-Climax-powered four-wheel-drive Formula One car developed to demonstrate Ferguson's traction technology. Its front-engine layout was increasingly disadvantaged as mid-engine cars became dominant, but the car achieved a landmark result when Stirling Moss won the 1961 International Gold Cup at Oulton Park. It remains the only four-wheel-drive car to win a Formula One race.

• Production grand touring car drivetrain application · 1966

  Jensen Interceptor FF

  The Jensen Interceptor FF was the principal road-car application of Ferguson Research's technology. Jensen lengthened the Interceptor platform to accommodate the system and introduced the model in 1966. The FF combined high performance with four-wheel drive and advanced braking technology, but its hand-built construction and high price limited it to a niche market rather than mass production.

• Four-wheel-drive Formula One racing car · 1964

  BRM P67

  The BRM P67 was a four-wheel-drive Formula One project built for BRM in 1964 using Ferguson Research technology. It formed part of the company's wider effort to demonstrate the usefulness of driven front wheels in racing, although the concept did not become competitive against the lighter and more aerodynamically effective designs emerging during the period.

• Experimental vehicle conversions

  Ferguson-converted Ford vehicles

  Ferguson Research converted Ford Mustangs for evaluation as four-wheel-drive performance cars and modified Ford Zephyr Mk IV vehicles for a United Kingdom police-vehicle assessment fleet. The projects were intended to demonstrate possible production, government and specialist applications, but they did not result in a regular mass-market Ford four-wheel-drive model.

• 1971

  Close the company after limited commercial resultsStrategy

  Background

  The company had accumulated extensive racing and road-car development experience, but its programs had not generated a sufficiently successful production business.

  Action taken

  Tony Sheldon closed Harry Ferguson Research.

  Aftermath

  Tony Rolt formed FF Developments to continue work on four-wheel-drive systems for road cars.

  Source

• 1960

  Use Formula One to demonstrate four-wheel-drive technologyStrategy

  Background

  The company had struggled to persuade major manufacturers to adopt a four-wheel-drive family car, so Tony Rolt promoted a racing project that could provide a visible technical demonstration.

  Action taken

  Ferguson Research developed the P99 and entered it in British Formula One competition through Rob Walker's team.

  Aftermath

  The P99 won the 1961 International Gold Cup, but its front-engine configuration was soon eclipsed by mid-engine cars and the result did not lead to a major commercial breakthrough.

  Source

• 1960

  Shift toward supplying systems to car manufacturersStrategy

  Background

  After Harry Ferguson's death, the company needed a more commercially realistic route than producing a complete family car itself.

  Action taken

  Under chairman Tony Sheldon, Ferguson Research focused on developing four-wheel-drive systems that established manufacturers could adopt in their own vehicles.

  Aftermath

  This strategy produced the Jensen Interceptor FF and several evaluation vehicles, but the cost and complexity of the system continued to restrict commercial scale.

  Source

1. 1Ferguson Researchen.wikipedia.org