SIR JACKIE STEWART reckons that, of all the world’s roads, a 105km loop in Scotland is the best place to evaluate cars. “It condenses so many varied conditions and surfaces into a short distance,” says the triple F1 world champion. “Motorway, main and minor roads, open bends, tight bends, crests, dips, long humps, broken edges, narrow village streets and fast kinks across high moorland. I’ve never found anywhere better in Australia, America or Europe.”
The loop is in Perthshire, 100km north-west of Edinburgh, and we are here, in March 1993, in a Ford Mondeo, soon after its launch. Jackie, in his role as a Ford R&D consultant, is driving and chatting with his front passenger, Richard Parry-Jones, presently Chief Engineer of Ford’s Small and Medium Vehicle Centre. In a few years, he will be Ford’s Chief Technical Officer, responsible for 30,000 engineers and designers and everything technical in Ford worldwide. Some believe his work will save Ford of Europe more than once and it will certainly make all Fords, everywhere, better – along with Jaguars, Land Rovers, Volvos and Aston Martins when they were owned by Ford.
I’m in the back seat, scribbling notes, as Parry-Jones and Stewart recount how, on these roads, in two weeks of high-pressure work, driving day and night, they fine-tuned the Mondeo to help make it best-in-class. Parry-Jones, a rally-loving Welshman who, at 12, wrote to ask Ford how to become an engineer; and the Scottish garage owner’s son who became a Formula 1 ace. In the process, they established a system for evaluating, prioritising and improving vehicle dynamics that transformed Ford and forced rivals to lift their game, too.
This story is from the July 2022 edition of Wheels Australia Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 2022 edition of Wheels Australia Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
ROUGH DIAMONDS
GO OUT AND SEE AUSTRALIA. BUY ONE OF THESE AND YOU'LL MAKE IT HOME TOO
WORK IN PROGRESS
WHEN YOUR LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON IT, DON'T TAKE ANY CHANCES
RABID RESPONSE
EVEN IF YOU'RE PULLING IN THE FINANCIAL HORNS, YOU WON'T NEED TO COMPROMISE ON FUN
PREMIUM BLEND
HERE'S HOW TO ENJOY CHAMPAGNE ON A VAGUELY BEERY BUDGET
GO LARGE, SAVE BIG
WE BRING YOU A SELECTION OF LARGE FAMILY SUVS THAT ARE UNLIKELY TO BREAK THE BANK
MIDDLE CLASS
THE AUSSIE FAMILY DREAM USED TO BE A QUARTER ACRE AND A PICKET FENCE. NOW IT'S A LITTLE MORE MODEST
SHORTY AWARDS
VALUE FOR MONEY CAN BE A RARE COMMODITY AMONG SMALL SUVS. HERE ARE THREE THAT ANSWER THE CALL
MID SIZE MAX VALUE
THE MEDIUM RANGE SECTOR IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF GETTING ALOT OF CAR FOR YOUR DOLLAR
HATCH MATCH
WANT A HATCH THAT'LL PUT A SMILE ON YOUR DIAL SECOND TIME ROUND? TRY THESE...
MODE ΤΟ ΤΟΥ
PORSCHE'S LATEST HOT 911 IS THE NEW FRONTIER FOR ON-THEFLY CHASSIS ADJUSTABILITY, OFFERING THE DRIVER A WORLD OF CONFIGURATION - BUT IS IT WORTH THE HASSLE?