1973 Jensen Interceptor III

The Jensen Interceptor was a GT car that was hand-built in the United Kingdom, at the Kelvin Way Factory, West Bromwich, near Birmingham, by Jensen Motors between 1966 and 1976. It offered genuine luxury, enormous presence, fast speeds, good performance, and whispering noise levels. The Interceptor name had been used previously by Jensen for the Jensen Interceptor produced between 1950 and 1957 at the Carters Green factory.

Instead of using the traditional glass-reinforced plastic for the fabrication of body panels, the Interceptor had a steel body shell designed by an outside firm, Carrozzeria Touring of Italy. The early examples were built in Italy by Vignale before Jensen brought production in-house, making slight modifications to the body.

Power was sourced from a Chrysler V8, initially displacing 6276cc, with an optional manual transmission, but the more common selection was the TorqueFlite automatic transmission. Power was sent to the rear wheels through a limited-slip differential and a conventional Salisbury rear axle.

By late 1972, the engine had grown to 7212cc, and it acquired 4-barrel carburetion.

The design inspiration for the Interceptor came from the Brasinca Uirapuru, a little-known Brazilian Coupe, which featured a large, curving wrap-around rear window that doubled up as a tailgate. The original specification included a wood-rimmed steering wheel, electric windows, reclining front seats, a radio with twin speakers, reversing lights, and an electric clock. Power steering was included as standard from September 1968.

In October of 1969, Jensen announced the Mark II Interceptor. It had revised frontal styling and vented disc brakes. The Mark III followed in 1971. It had revised seats, fully cast alloy wheels, and several other improvements.
By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2016