Ford Handling Genius Richard Parry-Jones dies at 70
Discussion
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry-news/f...
Terribly sad, apparently an accident on his farm.
Richard Parry-Jones introduced a new and class-leading standard of vehicle dynamics at Ford, beginning with the first Mondeo in 1993 and proceeding through the Focus, Fiesta, Puma, Galaxy to the whole range. He probably did more to make the average modern car actually handle well than any other single individual, his beneficial influence was felt on roads worldwide, and not merely by Ford drivers.
RIP
^ nice one Nathan 
I recall reading a couple of stories about his handling developments. Apparently while analysing the third-gen Fiesta to see where to improve, they found the XR2i had more 'give' in its subframe than its actual rear suspension. The fourth-gen Fiesta was duly re-engineered and drove much, much better.
The first-gen Galaxy was undertaken as a joint venture with Volkswagen, with the German firm initially developing the dynamics. When Richard Parry-Jones drove a development car, he basically informed his VW counterparts that it was s
t, which led to an agreement that Ford would tune the chassis. The Sharan, Alhambra and Galaxy duly arrived as the first MPVs that actually handled.
I recall reading a couple of stories about his handling developments. Apparently while analysing the third-gen Fiesta to see where to improve, they found the XR2i had more 'give' in its subframe than its actual rear suspension. The fourth-gen Fiesta was duly re-engineered and drove much, much better.
The first-gen Galaxy was undertaken as a joint venture with Volkswagen, with the German firm initially developing the dynamics. When Richard Parry-Jones drove a development car, he basically informed his VW counterparts that it was s
t, which led to an agreement that Ford would tune the chassis. The Sharan, Alhambra and Galaxy duly arrived as the first MPVs that actually handled.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff