VC01401 The Henry Ford II Collection

Henry Ford II, the eldest grandson of the founder, became President of Ford Motor Company in 1945 and CEO two years later. He retired as Chairman in 1980 and passed away in 1987. Affectionately known throughout the Ford empire as HFII or Hank the Deuce, he is widely credited with reviving the company’s post war fortunes. Henry Ford II was born in 1917, the eldest son of Edsel Ford and Eleanor Clay Ford. 

The family business was very much a part of his childhood and as a young man he learned the practical side of automotive development and production. When the United States entered World War II, he resigned from the company to join the Naval Reserve. His father Edsel’s health was poor, however, and when he passed away in May 1943, aged just 49, Henry II returned to the company to aid the war effort as Ford’s factories were among the USA’s biggest producers of military vehicles. 

Under HFII’s watch, Ford Motor Company became the second largest producer of motor vehicles in the world, and in 1956 was transformed from a family business into a successful, publicly owned corporation. He presided over an era that was spectacularly successful for the company during which it produced many profitable products such as the F-Series pickup, Mustang and Cortina. 

The advertising campaign, Ford Total Performance, gave rise to the Cosworth DFV engine which dominated F1 in the same way that Escorts went on to rule rallying. After being rebuffed in his attempts to buy Ferrari, he initiated the GT40 programme which gave Ford four successive Le Mans victories from 1966 to 1969. HFII enjoyed visiting the UK and in 1978 Ford’s global PR chief and fellow board member, Walter Hayes, who was a close friend and confidant, made a promise to provide him with something special to drive while he was in Britain. 

This resulted in the RS2000 modelled here, the first of four cars built specially for the man whose name was above the door. Although he retained a flat in London’s Eaton Square, Belgravia, these cars were based at Turville Grange, his 18th century mansion in Berkshire. 

While in service, each car was fastidiously maintained by Ford’s renowned UK Press Garage in Brentford, Middlesex.