Traction for Sale : The Story of Ferguson Formula Four-Wheel Drive

Four-wheel drive transformed road cars in the nineteen-eighties, adding speed, excitement and safety. Audi's rallying success made it the must-have, high-performance technology, distancing hugely it from off-road vehicles and army trucks. But Audi's quattro system wasn't the first, and by no means the best. Before it came the Ferguson Formula, the dream of racing driver Fred Dixon, to make cars safer on the road through four-wheel-drive. Harry Ferguson, of tractor-making fame, backed the idea and, under the control of Le Mans winner Tony Rolt the talented engineering team built some astonishing cars, sometimes behind the scenes and in secrecy. This is their story; how a small engineering company got there first and then battled for years to sell the technology to the industry, to try and make cars safer and more exciting at the same time. The riveting tale of how these men developed the essential technology that underpinned the most memorable cars of the '60s, '70s and '80s. From unicorns like the Jensen FF, the Ford Zephyr V6 and Ford Mustang 4x4, the Capri 4x4 and the astonishing Lotus 56 turbine Indy and F1 cars, through to the British Army's top-secret Opel Senators, the iconic Ford RS200 and MG Metro 6R4 and the legendary Sierra XR4x4 and Escort Cosworth Turbo. This book is indispensable reading for all Ford and Jensen enthusiasts, fans of the British motor industry and anyone interested in the 80s-era of 4x4 road and rally cars.