Reliant Scimitar GTE Ferguson 4x4 Concept - 1972
Sold for £ 13.000
The Jaguar Land-Rover Collection
Brightwells Auctions
Bicester Heritage
Buckingham Road
Bicester
Oxfordshire
England
March 2018
In a sale full of fascinating, rare and unusual cars, this unique Scimitar is for us, one of the stand-out vehicles on offer today. The internet forums have been alive with chatter, pondering its history and speculating where it has been in hiding all this time. Well, after several decades of hidden mystery - we are delighted to offer the one; and only Ferguson prototype four-wheel-drive Reliant Scimitar GTE.
The project was made possible due to an unlikely alliance between tractor company boss Harry Ferguson, racing driver Tony Rolt and Rolt's race mechanic Freddie Dixon. Rolt, a true racer, was best known for co-driving the winning car in the 1953 Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as competing in the gruelling Mille Miglia; he also saw success in Formula 1 – including the first ever World Championship Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1950.
Together, Rolt and Dixon invented the viscous coupling, which saw investment and backing from Harry Ferguson to form Ferguson Developments, who went on to produce the Ferguson P99 four-wheel drive Formula 1 car driven by Stirling Moss in 1961 (the only four-wheel drive race car to win a Grand Prix) in addition to Indy 500 four-wheel-drive cars.
Ferguson Developments closed when Harry Ferguson died in 1960, forcing Rolt to found FF Developments in 1971, financed by selling his four-wheel drive patents to GKN. His old Ferguson comrade Oz Webb was intrinsic in further developing the viscous coupling ideas into production-ready versions using internally splined plates over a centre epicyclic diff with slots and gaps in multi-plates running in viscous fluid. The iconic four-wheel-drive Jensen Interceptor FF is probably their most famous application, but other projects included four-wheel-drive Ford Zephyr police cars along with ambulances and vans.
This unique Ferguson Scimitar utilised similar technology, however the standard Scimitar chassis needed adapting to allow transfer of drive past the Ford V6 engine and bell-housing to an off-set front mounted GKN differential. Drive came from the rear of a specially developed overdrive gearbox via Hi-Vo chain and the prop-shaft had two CV-joints. The chassis and suspension were strengthened and modified to permit the extra weight of the GKN transmission and to ensure steering geometry was maintained having relocated the steering rack to clear the front diff.
The Ferguson Scimitar was designed with a front-to-rear torque split of 40:60 and was rigorously tested as a development exercise by former BRM chassis designer John Crosthwaite and his small team. It was then laid up at the back of the Reliant factory development department in Tamworth, Staffordshire until Crosthwaite persuaded then managing director Ray Wiggin to sell the car to him.
He lovingly restored, registered and enjoyed using it, covering around 40.000 miles before the car was sold into another large private collection where it has remained for many years. It is a unique and important historical reference showing the engineering brilliance that existed in at least some parts of the British motor industry of the 1970s.
Remaining in solid and sound order, this unique car has seen little use over several decades. Sadly, its history file only includes a V5C, although an online check has revealed that its last MOT expired in 2014 at which point the car had covered only 44.010 miles. The last couple of MOT trips prior to that show that fewer than ten miles were covered between visits. Given that the car has done so little over recent years, we have not attempted to start the vehicle since it has been onsite.
This Ferguson Scimitar is an important and historic vehicle which hopefully will soon be out and about for all to see.
Reliant Scimitar GTE Ferguson 4x4 Concept - 1972
Sold for £ 13.000
The Jaguar Land-Rover Collection
Brightwells Auctions
Bicester Heritage
Buckingham Road
Bicester
Oxfordshire
England
March 2018
In a sale full of fascinating, rare and unusual cars, this unique Scimitar is for us, one of the stand-out vehicles on offer today. The internet forums have been alive with chatter, pondering its history and speculating where it has been in hiding all this time. Well, after several decades of hidden mystery - we are delighted to offer the one; and only Ferguson prototype four-wheel-drive Reliant Scimitar GTE.
The project was made possible due to an unlikely alliance between tractor company boss Harry Ferguson, racing driver Tony Rolt and Rolt's race mechanic Freddie Dixon. Rolt, a true racer, was best known for co-driving the winning car in the 1953 Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as competing in the gruelling Mille Miglia; he also saw success in Formula 1 – including the first ever World Championship Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1950.
Together, Rolt and Dixon invented the viscous coupling, which saw investment and backing from Harry Ferguson to form Ferguson Developments, who went on to produce the Ferguson P99 four-wheel drive Formula 1 car driven by Stirling Moss in 1961 (the only four-wheel drive race car to win a Grand Prix) in addition to Indy 500 four-wheel-drive cars.
Ferguson Developments closed when Harry Ferguson died in 1960, forcing Rolt to found FF Developments in 1971, financed by selling his four-wheel drive patents to GKN. His old Ferguson comrade Oz Webb was intrinsic in further developing the viscous coupling ideas into production-ready versions using internally splined plates over a centre epicyclic diff with slots and gaps in multi-plates running in viscous fluid. The iconic four-wheel-drive Jensen Interceptor FF is probably their most famous application, but other projects included four-wheel-drive Ford Zephyr police cars along with ambulances and vans.
This unique Ferguson Scimitar utilised similar technology, however the standard Scimitar chassis needed adapting to allow transfer of drive past the Ford V6 engine and bell-housing to an off-set front mounted GKN differential. Drive came from the rear of a specially developed overdrive gearbox via Hi-Vo chain and the prop-shaft had two CV-joints. The chassis and suspension were strengthened and modified to permit the extra weight of the GKN transmission and to ensure steering geometry was maintained having relocated the steering rack to clear the front diff.
The Ferguson Scimitar was designed with a front-to-rear torque split of 40:60 and was rigorously tested as a development exercise by former BRM chassis designer John Crosthwaite and his small team. It was then laid up at the back of the Reliant factory development department in Tamworth, Staffordshire until Crosthwaite persuaded then managing director Ray Wiggin to sell the car to him.
He lovingly restored, registered and enjoyed using it, covering around 40.000 miles before the car was sold into another large private collection where it has remained for many years. It is a unique and important historical reference showing the engineering brilliance that existed in at least some parts of the British motor industry of the 1970s.
Remaining in solid and sound order, this unique car has seen little use over several decades. Sadly, its history file only includes a V5C, although an online check has revealed that its last MOT expired in 2014 at which point the car had covered only 44.010 miles. The last couple of MOT trips prior to that show that fewer than ten miles were covered between visits. Given that the car has done so little over recent years, we have not attempted to start the vehicle since it has been onsite.
This Ferguson Scimitar is an important and historic vehicle which hopefully will soon be out and about for all to see.