TRAVELLING over to England and using its motorways on the eve of the August Bank Holiday weekend does not seem like such a bright idea now. Miles of unfinished road improvement schemes, variable speed limits no greater than 50mph, and so many average speed cameras I lose count ensure a 90-minute journey is close to a three-hour slog.
However, like a cool hand on a warm brow, relief is in sight when I pick out the familiar Blue Oval sign towering high in the sky of this corner of Daventry – home to Ford UK’s new Heritage and Innovation Centre. It is the heritage I am interested in, however, and I choose the word ‘new’ carefully given this sprawling site has existed for many decades.
Previously, the space which is now home to the Heritage Collection was a vast, open-plan office comprising carpet tiles on which heavy desks sat. On these, computer terminals coordinated the company’s parts operation – which still runs out of the adjacent warehouse – and customer service division. But as more and more of the process was digitised, less space was required, and it became a dumping ground.
There are still traces of what was here before; a floor scarred with patches of concrete hint at the long lengths of cable that ran in special ducts. Initially, Len Keen, the Ford press officer in charge of Vehicle Operations, Heritage and Innovation wanted to power float the floor, but a water sprinkler system to satisfy insurers – and Ford UK top brass – had to be installed instead at significant cost, so pleasantries had to take a back seat.
As I approach the front door where I am met by Len, the outside strikes me as being unassuming and nondescript in appearance. The same, however, cannot be said of what is tucked a few hundred steps away inside.
Before we make it there, Len diverts my gaze to the cream Mk1 Ford Fiesta that sits to my right as we walk through the double doors, and to my left, in the corner, a portrait of the great industrialist Henry Ford himself. “I feel bad we haven’t managed to pick a spot and hang it up – but the truth is, we have been so busy moving vehicles from Dagenham to Daventry. We just haven’t had the time,” he explains.
At this point in the story, I should come clean. Football reporters are never supposed to declare which team they support. The same applies to motoring correspondents. But my soft spot has always been Ford. And with so many exclusive, iconic and priceless cars parked up within touching distance, only those without a pulse would fail to get excited by what is revealed as you enter an Aladdin’s Cave of nostalgia, glory, success and – given how most people have either owned a Ford or know someone else who has – a real sense of familiarity.
Even non-car enthusiasts will have heard of famous slogans such as ‘Backbone of Britain’ and ‘Everything we do is driven by you’ (Transit), ‘Go Further’ (Focus), and ‘The pace car for an entire company’ (GT40).
The idea behind going to such trouble to relocate a special collection is simple, says Len. “When I took on this job, I always said I wanted people to see these cars, I wanted them to be able to look under the bonnet and sit in them, because that evokes feelings, emotions and memories pictures can’t,” he explains.
“Why have these cars and put a rope around them? They are made to be enjoyed. It also gives us the chance to show how Ford has played a major role in transportation within the UK over the past 100 years.”
True to his word, after spending the best part of an hour walking up one side of this N-shaped room, that includes the very last passenger vehicle to be built at the now demolished Dagenham factory, a specially commissioned Galaxy MPV that served as a mobile office en route to European rounds for Eddie Jordan when he ran the Jordan F1 team, and the very Mk1 Escort that carried Hannu Mikkola and co-driver Gunnar Palm to success at the 1970 London to Mexico Rally.
Why have these cars and put a rope around them? They are made to be enjoyed. It also gives us the chance to show how Ford has played a major role in transportation over the past 100 years
— Len Keen, Ford Vehicle Operations, Heritage and Innovation
“Hannu and Gunnar chose reliability over power for those 16,000 miles, so they had a Kent engine fitted,” explains Len. “It meant that if they ran into difficulties during the rally, there was a decent chance they could pick up a spare part and get going again as the little 1600cc motor was in service in so many countries at that time. It made perfect sense.”
Every single car and van in this 100-strong display has its own unique story to tell, with Len’s love – and obvious passion – for each adding another layer of fascination to an already compelling tale. It is hard to pick a favourite, but the low, sleek, silver bullet-like GT40 Mk3 ranks near the top. Often seen at Goodwood Revival with Len at the wheel and VIPs riding shotgun, it is the road-going version of the Le Mans-winning racer. Despite having a 4.7-litre V8 tuned to develop 306bhp, it had too many flaws to be successful, the biggest of which was the gearshift.
“In the process of developing the car, it was moved from the sill to the centre,” says Len, “so an already snug cockpit was made to feel smaller again. When I open the door to let people in ahead of a demonstration run, especially ladies, I always say to them, ‘Now, there is a good chance I will stroke your leg when I change gear, just because of where it is positioned’.
“It is always a nice ice breaker and when it does happen, they generally can’t help themselves from laughing.”
On a good day at auction, as one of only seven built, ‘DWC 8G’ is estimated to be worth anywhere from £5-7 million.
A lot of the cars will be familiar to readers of The Irish News as many of them started out life as press demonstrators – and like a fine red wine, they continue to get better with age. Take the original, Mk1 Ford Focus RS in Performance Blue; ‘RS02 FMC’ has graced the covers of magazines in Ireland and Britain and indeed the world over, while the black, Mk2 RS500 parked beside it is ‘Prototype Number 1′.
Other automotive unicorns include a ‘Tangerine Scream’ Mk2 Focus ST tuning specialist Mountune gifted once engineers had finished using it to develop an engine upgrade in the noughties, a Sierra RS Cosworth worth over half-a-million pounds, and a yellow Ford Escort RS Cosworth. “It was a product development car,” says Len. “It was sprayed yellow to see if it would work but marketing concluded it was just too garish and loud.”
On the face of it every generation is covered and every car you would want in a collection that perfectly captures the Ford story is here, under one roof, from the Model T to the Mach-E EV, which is why Len’s parting comment is somewhat surprising: “There is always room for one more,” he chuckles. “Deciding which one is the hard part…”
