Jensen a star of the 1960s

ANYONE wandering around the Earls Court Motor Show in 1961 with around £ 2,700 burning a hole in their pocket had a lot of choice.

Jaguars of that era were under £ 2,000, but if you really wanted to push the boat out you could have opted for the Jensen 541 S at £ 2,706.

This was one of the first cars with fibreglass bodywork and its power to weight ratio was impressive.

Under the bonnet was Austin’s four- litre straight six engine as used in the Austin Sheerline and with 133bhp on tap 125mph was attainable, matching the top speed of a Jaguar XK150.

The S model was a refined version of the original 541 which had been around since 1957, offering a new avenue in refined and fast motoring.

It was one of the first cars equipped with Dunlop disc brakes all round.

The S model featured Rolls- Royce four- speed automatic transmission and this was a major step forward over the former manual plus overdrive version.

With a robust tubular body, the doors of the 541 were aluminium and the rest of the panels fibreglass, a skill acquired by the company in their manufacture of commercial vehicles. Brothers Richard and Alan Jensen first tried out car design in the 1920s with a modified Austin Seven.

Then followed creations based on Standard and Ford designs and there were even a number of Jensen/ Ford V8 tourers, one of which went to Hollywood, supposedly for Clark Gable.

The first car to bear the Jensen name on its radiator was a Ford V8- powered car with a two- speed Columbia rear axle, which had much in common with the new SS Jaguar.

The 541 and 541 S were the start of glory days for Jensen which went on to produce cars like the Interceptor and FF, models which have been regenerated by a new company for a new age.