NEW ZEALAND–NEW JENSEN INTERCEPTOR

Many people will not be aware that, for a short time, the Jensen Interceptor was sold new in New Zealand. Ross Jensen — a famous Auckland motor racing driver, who was no relation to the Jensen brothers who created the marque — had the Jensen franchise, and operated from a showroom in Newmarket, Auckland.

This car, bought in 1974, was the last brand-new Jensen Interceptor to be sold in New Zealand. It is a MKIII Series 4 Interceptor, and, when Simon Espie purchased it in 2015, it had been sitting in a shed untouched for some years and was in a sorry state. Close inspection revealed that most of the deterioration was cosmetic and the engine still ran, albeit very roughly. The exterior was covered in bird droppings, the interior was filthy, and the rear brakes were seized.

This is the third Interceptor that Simon would own; he’d just sold his MKIII J-series Interceptor to fund it. Despite the new car’s state, once it was cleaned up, it was a better car than his J-series, so Simon was very excited to get it.

Andrew Fox at Classic and Modern Motoring in Lower Hutt did the refurbishment. For many years, Andrew’s workshop specialized in restoring and repairing Healey motorcars. However,

these days, his workshop repairs, services, and restores any classic British car, with a few Europeans thrown in for good measure.

The guys at Classic and Modern Motoring took to Simon’s Interceptor with gusto. They repainted the car in its original colour, completely overhauled the electrics, which had been bodged by different owners over the years, cleaned all the debris out of the fuel tank, and basically gave the car a good seeing to.

Although the Interceptor is not quite finished, Simon has taken it for a test drive and says that it drives like brand new.