Jensen Interceptor redefined grand touring
Richard and Alan Jensen of West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England, were captivated by the charm of large, slow-turning powerplants and the sprightliness provided by a high power-to-weight ratio.
They were part of a small element in the British auto industry fascinated with big American engines in light English cars. Examples include the Hudson-engined Railtons and Brough Superiors of the 1930s, Cadillac Allards and Nash-Healeys of the 1950s, and Ford-powered AC Cobras and Sunbeam Tigers of the 1960s.
The Jensens had established their reputation as custom body stylists and builders in the 1920s and ’30s. They fitted them to the chassis of such cars as Austins, Standards, Morrises and Wolseleys and became prosperous enough to purchase the W.J. Smith and Sons coachworks. They turned into Jensen Motors Ltd. in 1934.
A publicity break came in 1936, when dashing Hollywood actor Clark Gable commissioned a special four-seater convertible on a Ford chassis. This stimulated orders for similar cars, inducing the company to build many elegant Jensens powered by Ford V-8s and Nash straight-eights.
After building tank turrets and other components during the Second World War, Jensen showed its first postwar Model Eight with a straight-eight engine in 1948, replaced in 1949 by the Interceptor, based on the Austin A70 chassis. The Interceptor had the Austin Sheerline/Princess 4.0litre, overhead-valve 130-horsepower inline six, and resembled a larger version of the attractive little Austin A40 Sports convertible, whose bodies Jensen was building for Austin Motor Co.
Jensen also built bodies for other models, including AustinHealeys, Volvo P1800s and Sunbeam Tigers.
The car that introduced their name to North Americans was the big, luxuriously appointed, Chrysler-powered, four-seater Interceptor 2-plus-2 hardtops and convertibles of the 1960s and 1970s.
When the time came to replace the aging but less-than-beautiful Jensen CV-8 model (named for its Chrysler V-8 engine) that had arrived in 1962, Jensen stylists designed a new Interceptor. It was based on the CV-8 chassis and was previewed at London’s 1965 Earls Court show. But Jensen management was not happy with its appearance; they wanted an Italian firm to style the new Interceptor.
Several establishments were visited, with Touring of Milan providing an acceptable design. But Touring lacked the capacity to build the bodies, so Jensen bought the drawings outright from Touring and commissioned another Italian company, Vignale, to build them.
The first prototype Interceptor was built in the exceptionally short time of only five months. Production would soon move to Jensen’s plant in England.
The Interceptor was introduced at the Earls Court Motor Show in 1966. The 2-plus-2 coupe was quite a large car by British standards, measuring 4,775 millimetres long with a 2,667-mm wheelbase. It weighed a substantial 1,676 kilograms.
The new Interceptor was a big, brawny, handsome multinational effort combining an English chassis, Italian styling and powerful American Chrysler V-8. It was well received and originally came as a hardtop model only, featuring quad headlamps and a plain, yet tasteful, horizontal bar grille. The most distinctive styling feature was the large, glass fastback hatch.
The Interceptor was lavishly appointed, coddling its four passengers in soft leather seats and deep wool carpets, although those in the rear found legroom limited. A convertible would be added in 1974.
The Interceptor was not only luxurious, it was fast. According to Road & Track, the huge 6.3-litre (383 cu in.) 330-horsepower Chrysler V-8 sprinted it to 100 kilometres an hour in 7.1 seconds and reached a top speed of 196 km/h.
In addition to luxury and speed, Jensen featured some very advanced technology. Until 1972, it offered an FF version with a four-wheel-drive system developed by Irish tractor king Harry Ferguson’s organization. This FF also pioneered the use of anti-lock brakes on a production car. Jensen had begun fitting innovative four-wheel discs in 1957, an exotic feature at that time.
Interceptor production in Mark I, II and III versions was never high, rising from about 200 in 1967 to more than 1,200 in 1973, its best year. Export of Jensens began in 1969, and during its 10-year life span from 1967 to 1976, fewer than 6,000 were built.
In spite of the addition of the smaller, cheaper Jensen-Healey two-seater model, Jensen Motors Ltd. failed in 1976, a victim like so many other specialty car builders of increasing competition and spiralling production costs. A subsequently reorganized Jensen Cars produced a handful of cars.
The Interceptor left behind a legacy of what touring in the grand style should be. One writer referred to it as the Gentleman’s Express, an apt description that superbly summed up the Jensen Interceptor’s Italian-styled, English luxury and American-powered fast and elegant carriage.