GEOFF FOX INTERVIEW
An unsung hero of fast Ford folklore, meet the SVE engineer whose credits range from Escort Mk1 to Mondeo ST220…
We catch up with one of SVE’s founding members to find out what really went on at Dunton.
Geoff Fox isn’t your average ex-Ford employee. While most folk who say they worked for the Blue Oval actually just polished Fiestas in a dealership’s valeting bay, Geoff had hands-on involvement in many of the most iconic Fords of our time.
He was a founding member of Special Vehicle Engineering (SVE), he was there when the RS Cosworth came and went, and he stayed managing sporty projects until ST became a highly-regarded brand.
Yet Geoff is an unsung hero of the fast Ford story, happy to sit quietly in the background while others bask in the glory. Even so, Geoff is still very much a Blue Oval enthusiast, as keen today on engineering as he is to chat about the hybrid Puma’s handling prowess.
Geoff is the quintessential car bloke; and it’s no exaggeration to say that, without his input, the Ford world would have been a significantly poorer place.
Fast Ford caught up with Geoff at his Essex home (at Covid-19’s convenience, of course) to learn more about Geoff’s crucial role in the history of our favourite Fords.
When did you first get involved with Ford?
When I left school at 17, I had seven job offers, and the one that paid the most was at Ford as an apprentice draughtsman, on £3.15 a week.
So in the mid-1960s I was one of the plant resident engineers at Dagenham, in the days of Mk1 Cortina and Zephyr/Zodiac. My background was body engineering, which includes body structure, interior/exterior
trim etc. I was part of the team that did the layout (surface lines) development of the Mk1 Escort body – the engineering and design of Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts was handled in Britain – and I developed the inner rear quarter and wheelarch panel, which was the first onepiece body side panel, and at the time was Ford’s most complex metal stamping.
I was also involved with the original Capri (the metal sunroof and last-minute changes to the rear quarter windows), and I did the Transit van’s sliding side door.
Why did you change departments?
I made a rule to myself that I’d never stay in any single position for more than three years. So I went into component engineering and moved around many responsibilities. I worked on seating, interior trim, bumpers, glazing, and mirrors – I did the Mk5 Cortina, which were the largest mirrors at the time.
I also worked on seat belts, including the early development of front airbags, which was scary. It was a nightmare trying to package an explosive device under the dash. In America, they’d use prisoners for testing, and they’d lose their hearing; the pressure in the car when an airbag is deployed is pretty high, and it just popped their eardrums.
How were you involved in the first Fiesta?
I spent some time in Valencia when the Fiesta was launched there in 1976.
We had horrible seats, which had the foam moulded into the fabric. They didn’t breathe; they were terrible.
We had to visit new suppliers in Spain, and many didn’t want to work to our standards. One had an anodising acid bath with people walking around, totally unprotected.
I recall a trial on the Mk1 Fiesta using 3mm glass in the rear quarter windows instead of 4mm, which is the norm these days; it was primarily for weight saving, and lowered the centre of gravity. The trade unions and line workers were refusing to use it because they were worried about breakages.
We’d shipped the glass to the plant,
and I went to demonstrate and persuade the guys to use it with a revised weather-strip. I tried to find the pallet with the new glass, only to discover it had been used accidentally, with the old weather-strips. By default, the line trial was successful, all the glass was traced and they were sold as regular production cars. After this ‘trial’ success, the 3mm glass was put into production.
Why did you move to SVE?
I was poached into it. I was recruited as one of the first of seven engineers who formed Special Vehicle Engineering in April 1980, with my prime responsibility being body and trim – although with SVE being such a small team, we tended to cover all aspects of the vehicles under our development.
So you were involved with SVE’s first car, the Capri 2.8 Injection?
Yes, I was responsible for the body, trim and some powertrain cooling. I was also the launch team – just me – in the Cologne plant, which was fun as the Germans didn’t know what hit them, especially with the short lead time into production.
The first was the left-hand-drive version; we converted a 3-litre Capri, took the engine out, relocated the battery tray and put a reinforcement plate under the floor; we had test drivers doing 100,000 miles at Lommel for durability, and found the stiffness of the suspension and the firmness of the Recaro seats caused the floorpan to crack under the seat mountings.
In fact, the Capri 2.8 Injection was the first with the Recaro badge, and it was me who negotiated it with Ford. Usually, they don’t like to have suppliers’ badges on the vehicles, but I got the tooling and investment funded by Recaro. It was good advertising, and had the right image and credibility.
Is it correct that Ford hadn’t planned to call it the 2.8 Injection?
Yes, it was initially going to be the Capri Supersport. But I had some fun with the decal on one of the SVE cars. I secretly substituted Injection for Erection. The guy’s wife was the main user, and it took a couple of months before she realised why people kept pointing and laughing. She was not a happy bunny…
What was next, after the Capri?
Six months after the LHD 2.8 Injection, we did the right-hand drive, which was only five minutes and a bit of fag paper.
We then moved to the Fiesta XR2 – another fun car. Me and another member of the SVE team (John Hitchins) did the ride and handling development, using the Armstrong service truck, across the Yorkshire Moors. You couldn’t do that nowadays because of the average speed cameras on the routes.
We used the Supersport as a benchmark to build the XR2, using the same-size wheels and tyres. We had to roll the rear wheelarch flanges, and whereas the Supersport had a spare wheel indentation under the bumper, done by hand, the XR2 had much higher production volumes, so we actually had to make a panel that could be built before it was assembled on the line.
We used American headlamps to look different, and because they were better than the sealed-beams. SVE was basically the lovechild of Bob Lutz, and he was a car bloke. So we had a free rein with him behind us.
Getting the Valencia production line to accept the body side decals – I had to train them – and the wheelarch mouldings was an interesting experience, not to mention the various body tweaks necessary to accommodate the wheel assemblies.
How did the iconic pepperpot wheel design come about?
Barry Tracey, the then-MD at Wolfrace, came to visit me, trying to sell me seats, but the quality was not suitable for OE production. I had facing desks with Ray Diggins – our wheel man at the time – and Barry showed us the Sonic design.
It was a fresh new wheel, so we took it to Ford’s design studio for appearance approval, then did a little reworking of the tooling to make it suit the Capri 2.8 Injection – the intended wheel was the four-spoke but it was getting a bit tired – and then the XR2.
You took charge of Escort Cabriolet development and introduction, so were you still involved with other SVE projects? Yes, in my area of expertise I was hands-on with the XR2 Mk2, XR3i Mk3, Mondeo ST200 and ST220 (body, trim and wheels).
By the late 1980s, my team’s responsibility became more focused on SVPs, so that plus my total Cabriolet responsibility took up the bulk of my time, and for the rest of SVE’s output I was mainly an advisor.
For example, with the Sierra and Sapphire Cosworths, local market requirements would decide individual specs, based on what buyers would expect on a car – such as all right-hand-drive Sierra Cosworths having a sunroof. The aerodynamics were developed by SVE in the Merkenich and MIRA wind tunnels – not by me – but I introduced most of the Recaro seats we used. The sports seats in Sierras were developed with the JIT supplier at the Genk plan so I had a few trips there.
The RS500’s extra spoilers were added by Motorsport, not SVE.
“...Initially going to be the Capri Supersport. But I had some fun with the decal on one of the SVE cars. I secretly substituted Injection for Erection”
Did your role involve the infamous threetier Escort Cosworth rear wing?
It’s a joke that Frank Stephenson claims there was a third spoiler. There never was. He was a junior designer at the time, and Ian Callum was the main man.
One of Frank’s sketches had a third tier, but it was simply his personal idea. It was never considered for production. I doubt it would tool up, the extra downforce would make the front unstable, it would obscure any rear vision, the weight would compromise the tailgate assist struts, and it looked horrible.
Could you tell us more about SVPs?
Special value programmes – what you’d call limited-editions – were my role alongside Cabriolets. They could be anything from decals and wheeltrims to the Fiesta Calypso, for example, with folding cassette sunroof and new trim.
SVPs were developed by a small core group consisting of me, a marketing guy (they came up with the names), a vehicle line guy and a designer. The group established a spec, and my engineering team developed and released the components. We certainly had a lot of quick turnaround programmes, but it was fun and at times high-profile.
SVPs could test the market, refresh model lines, market-research certain features, add celebrity endorsements or end a model, but were mainly to boost showroom traffic.
We were at an advantage handling these cross-functional and cross-carline projects because we were self-contained, dealing directly with the design studio – thus giving feasibility and timing during programme meetings. This was not restricted to Europe – we managed special editions of the Contour/ Mystique in the US too.
For SVPs there was a set budget, and we could dip into different catalogues. Generally, we would develop unique trim, alloy wheels, and even new bumpers such as those on the Mondeo ST. Items like tinted glass, highseries armrests and sunroofs came from the parts bin. A lot of the components were subsequently used on mainstream vehicles.
For example, the Mk5 Escort Encore was relatively quick and easy but its sales volumes were good, hence it was upgraded into the mainstream Escort (as the LX).
We had an excellent working relationship with many of Ford’s suppliers, and tended to dictate component sources to the purchase department when we were ready to go.
We didn’t get involved with changes to engines or transmissions with SVPs, but we dealt with various suspension suppliers, and could make adjustments if required. For wheels we tended to work with just three different sources, with good results.
Were you responsible for the final Capri, the 280/Brooklands?
On the Capri of all derivatives, I was personally responsible for the body modifications, seats, all interior trim, the exterior paint and decals/ badging, but not the wheels.
I dealt with the leather supplier, Eagle Ottawa. The leather had to be tested by
the materials laboratory and passed before we could use it. The grain and colour were selected in the design studio, and then we engineered the seats to fit the vehicle.
The 280/Brooklands was initially a limited run of 500 but became 1000 due to customer demand. The Turbo Technics dealer-fit option was offered on the final 500, approved and signed-off by SVE.
“The Cosworth engine was always more than the quoted figures. Cosworth couldn’t down-tune it to 205bhp”
Were there any SVPs you were particularly pleased with?
There were so many SVPs, but the easy ones to remember are the yellow Millennium limited editions on Puma, Ka and Focus, as they are easy to spot on the road, even today.
Did you need to be a good driver to be part of SVE?
Definitely not – and I could tell some stories… But I was privileged to have the late Sir John Whitmore and Mike Franey as my highspeed (circuit and road) driving instructors, using a Cosworth Sierra and an Escort Turbo at Brands Hatch, Silverstone, Snetterton, Lommel and Bruntingthorpe.
The Sierra we used is still in the Heritage Collection at Dagenham – D443 RVW, which had a hard life, including Nürburgring and Nardo. We used to disconnect the ABS under the rear seat.
Is that why the cars in the Heritage fleet don’t seem to perform too well in modern comparison tests?
They’re probably tired. We built the yellow Escort Cosworth to test public reaction; it was chipped to 280PS. It was crashed by a lovely German at Brands Hatch, and we had it rebuilt, but it’s never been quite as good.
The Cosworth engine, especially in the Sierra, was always more than the quoted figures. Cosworth couldn’t down-tune it to 205bhp, so it was always significantly more
– usually about 220bhp.
The 4x4 was a little bit more than quoted, but not much more. It was easy to tune, but the warranty responsibility wouldn’t allow Ford to put that much stress on the engine
You must have encountered a few rather special cars while testing mules...
Yes, I certainly have: a twin-turbo Scorpio, V6 Escort Cosworth, 1.7 Ka, various chipped Sierra Cosworths, and a few very hairy motors from the SVT (SVE) guys in the States on my trips over there, including a 600hp Thunderbird in the 1980s, which was a real Q car. Those were the days!
Were you involved in many secret projects that didn’t make it into production?
Lots. We used to build them up using the prototype shop in Dunton. My team worked on the Mk4 Escort 4x4, covering body mods and the plastic (saddle) fuel tank.
We built a supercharged Cougar R, which was probably crushed, a Ka ST130 with 2-litre Zetec (done on-spec to see if we could get approval), a Cosworth-bodied V6 RWD, a Focus turbo, Focus V6 FWD, and an SVT
Mondeo 3-litre (used to develop the ST220). I went to Detroit on the Cougar ST200 programme, but it was cancelled weeks away from production.
A couple more projects that we were investigating were the Seeka and Sierra Targa – both more complex than decals and wheeltrims – but due to financial constraints they didn’t progress. There was also the Mk1 Focus with a folding hardtop, but it never got off the ground.
I even flew up to Malcolm Wilson’s M-Sport to investigate a programme with them. It didn’t happen.
Is it true that you were crucial to certain very-limited-edition Fords?
Yes, I was responsible for a few one-offs, including Lady Di’s Escorts. She had a Regency Red Cabriolet, which went back to public affairs and was re-registered. But Regency Red was only available on the Ghia Cabriolet, so if there’s an XR3i Cabriolet out there in Regency Red, there’s a bloody good chance it’s the same car. It’s funny because I once had that car with me, and it’s amazing how many people wanted to borrow the car key so they could sniff the seat…
She followed it with a black RS Turbo. You couldn’t get RS Turbos in black, so it was my job to get them together. Harry Carlton, in marketing, got a request from the royal household that they wanted a black one, so Harry asked me, and I made it happen. Marley Foam was the supplier of the body claddings, and they did the bodykit in black.
One of the cars had the body colour label as white – all three might have done – but all three were definitely painted black on the production line.
Which other Karmann projects were you involved with?
I’d visit Karmann in Germany every other week, running the Cabriolet programme, and got roped in to oversee the Merkur XR4Ti and solve any problems. The States was supposed to be responsible for it, but it was like a ghost town; they were a bunch of plonkers – it was crazy. As an example, they ordered a batch of cars for California, in black with no air conditioning. When I did hot-climate testing in Morocco on the Capri Mk1, we cracked an egg on a black car and fried it; a fair bit of the heat transfers into the car, so in a hot country you get a white car.
While I was at Karmann, I took hundreds of photos with my little Minox (before the advent of camera phones), such as a Juice Green Escort Cosworth and a study for an Escort Cosworth wagon.
When did you leave Ford?
I retired in 2002; my last programme was the Mondeo ST220. SVE and SVT were the same team by then, so we did the Focus ST170 and SVT together. SVE then became Team RS and morphed into Ford Performance. It’s still going, but in the modern world they’re just engineers in mainstream.
Which is your favourite Ford?
Nostalgically, it’s got to be the Capri 2.8 Injection, our very first baby. I never had one, but when I got married, we moved out of London in a 3-litre Capri.
Another of my favourites has always been the 2.9 V6 Sierra 4x4 wagon. I had them as company cars and towed with them, averaging 16mpg… It was a great engine, and the 24-valve version is not too bad. Mainstream engineering tried to gazump SVE and did a twin-turbo version, and it was bloody awful. It drove like a pig, with lots of turbo lag.
You’re clearly a petrolhead. Have you owned anything special over the years?
I used to race catamarans; back in the 1960s my tow car was a TR3A, and then a Ford Classic 1500. I had a Lotus Elan with a CVH engine and a five-speed Sierra gearbox; it went well. I have also owned TR3s, a TVR, MGs, a Jaguar E-type roadster, and an original two-door Mk1 Escort.
Which cars are in your current garage?
An Austin Healey 3000 I’ve owned since the mid-Eighties, an MG B roadster, an Escort Calypso Cabriolet and a new Puma 155ps STline X, which is fun to drive; I am on my third, all with the 19in wheels.
What were your highlights of SVE?
I feel so privileged. I have travelled Europe and the States many times. I’ve visited high-profile manufacturers such as Pininfarina, Bertone, ASC, Recaro, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Prodrive, TWR and Tickford as a VIP. I also visited Malcolm Wilson’s motorsport facility near Carlisle, flown in their rally support helicopter.
I’ve been on press launches in fantastic locations, even the Italian F1 GP at Imola, and enjoyed a rally forest stage with Malcolm Wilson as my driver; that was brilliant.
All this and working with a great team of guys, with interesting performance cars to drive, it’s hard to believe how lucky I have been. There are so many fantastic memories and stories to recall.