Jensen FF

Jensen
FF
Production period:	1966-1971
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Coupe
Engines:	Otto engine : 6.3 liters (238 kW)
Length:	4851 mm
Width:	1753 mm
Height:	1397 mm
Wheelbase :	2769 mm
Empty weight :	2025 kg

The Jensen FF was a Gran Turismo class (GT) sports car produced by the British automobile manufacturer Jensen . It was one of the first passenger cars with all-wheel drive and the first with an anti-lock braking system . Between 1966 and 1971, only 320 were built in West Bromwich .

all wheel drive

The Jensen FF was the first passenger car to have permanent all-wheel drive 14 years before the Audi quattro . Until then, all-wheel drives were only used in commercial vehicles, military equipment and off-road vehicles.

The all-wheel drive system used in the vehicle was from Ferguson Research . The company, founded by the former tractor manufacturer Sir Harry Ferguson ( Massey Ferguson ) in cooperation with the racing driver and technician Tony Rolt , developed a permanent all-wheel drive for a Formula 1 car ( Ferguson P99 ) in the late 1950s . Jensen acquired the exclusive right to use it in his sports cars . The term FF refers to this partnership as an abbreviation for Ferguson Formula .

In the Jensen FF, the power is transmitted from the engine via the automatic gearbox to a planetary differential with a double clutch lock. From there, the drive force is passed on to the front wheels via a chain-driven cardan shaft and a bevel gear differential and to the rear wheels via another shaft and also a differential. The three differentials enable the variable connection between the engine and the wheels, which is necessary for cornering. 37% of the power is distributed to the front wheels and 63% to the rear wheels.

Anti-lock braking system

The Jensen FF was the first passenger car to be equipped with the early electromechanical Dunlop Maxaret anti- lock braking system, which until then had only been used in aircraft and racing cars . The car thus offered a maximum of active driving safety in the area of braking deceleration for the time .

Unlike the modern electronically controlled anti-lock braking systems, the Jensen FF is a mechanical system that detects the locking of an axle in the transfer case and then electrically reduces the vacuum in the brake booster .

body

Side view Jensen FF Mk II (1970)

The sister model Interceptor has a modified front section and only one ventilation slot on the side

The design of the Jensen FF is based on the Interceptor presented in the same year . The four-wheel drive components, however, required significant changes to the frame - longer front section and greater spacing between the supporting longitudinal tubes - and the front area of ​​the body. The Jensen FF is 10 centimeters longer and 150 kilograms heavier than the Interceptor.

The Jensen FF can easily be distinguished from its cheaper sister model without all-wheel drive by the longer front with a second side ventilation slot and the special air inlet in the bonnet.

All Jensen FF were produced as right-hand drive , as the space-consuming drive unit restricted the left foot space too much. The differential and cardan shaft were on the left. A left-hand drive was not produced because it would have required a complex redesign of the drive train.

engine

The Jensen FF is powered by a 6.3 liter eight-cylinder Chrysler engine with 325 SAE hp . A three-speed automatic transmission of the type TorqueFlite, also developed by Chrysler, serves as the power transmission . Despite the high curb weight of over 2 tons, the vehicle only needs 8.6 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h and reach a top speed of 210 km / h. The fuel consumption is over 20 liters / 100 km.

Model history

Jensen first installed Ferguson's all-wheel drive system in a converted C-V8 . The factory assumed that this modified C-V8 would be mass-produced; Sales brochures for this car called Jensen FF were printed and distributed in the course of 1966. Ultimately, the company's management decided to introduce the system in a new vehicle - the Interceptor - because it considered the design of the C-V8 to be unattractive and no longer competitive.

The series models of the Jensen FF were therefore based on the Interceptor Coupés. Between 1966 and 1971, in three generations (Mk I to Mk III), only 320 pieces were produced.

The Jensen FF was not a commercial success. The price was very high, about 30% higher than that of the similar-looking, but rear-wheel-drive Jensen Interceptor and, on top of that, partly higher than that of much more prestigious luxury GTs from other brands. The new price in 1970 was the equivalent of 87,500 Deutschmarks.

Since the Jensen FF was only offered as a right-hand drive, it could not be sold in important markets such as the USA, Switzerland or Germany.

After the FF was discontinued, the Jensen SP took on the role of the top model in the Jensen range.

Web links

Commons : Jensen FF  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Classic with all-wheel drive: Jensen FF Auto Bild Klassik from March 8, 2013
• Homepage of the Jensen FF engl.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Calver, Richard: A History of Jensen - The Chassis Data, pp. 207 ff.