1976 Jensen Interceptor

The history of the British-based Jensen Motors Limited company dates to 1922 when it was known as the W J Smith & Sons Limited Company. Brothers Alan and Richard Jensen changed the name to Jensen Motors Limited in 1934, and it would remain in business through 1976. The name was revived in 1998 and dissolved in 2011.

Following World War II, Jensen offered a luxury saloon named the PW, although production remained limited due to the scarcity of raw materials. The Interceptor followed in 1950, wearing a body designed by Eric Neale and was produced through 1957. The Jensen541 of 1955 was clothed with fiberglass bodywork, and its radiator grille was covered by a non-traditional driver-controlled swiveling flap. The lightweight C-V8 arrived in October 1962, and with its 6-liter Chrysler V8 engine, it was one of the fastest four-seaters of the era.

The Jensen C-V8 was replaced by the Interceptor, wearing designs by Italian coachbuilder, Carrozzeria Touring. It was introduced in October of 1965 and put into production in the second half of 1966. The bodyshells were built by Vignale of Italy and later by Jensen. Early examples were equipped with a 383 cubic-inch Chrysler Wedge-head powerplant while later cars featured the 440 cubic-inch unit.

For the preceding two decades, Jensen vehicles wore glass-reinforced plastic bodies, but with the Interceptor, the company returned to a steel body shell. The preceding C-V8 model's robust chassis and running gear were retained by the Interceptor with its wheelbase measuring 105.3 inches, its height of 53 inches, a width of 69 inches, and a length of 186 inches. The 383 CID engine was paired with a TorqueFlite automatic or optional manual transmission driving the rear wheels via a limited-slip differential in a conventional Salisbury rear axle.

The interior contained leather upholstery, reclining front seats, and walnut veneer as standard equipment.

The Mark II, announced in October of 1969, incorporated revised front suspension, Girling brakes, and a redesigned interior. Styling revisions were made around the headlamps, bumper and front grille, along with revised rear taillights. Air conditioning was offered as optional equipment.

The Mark III was introduced in 1971 and came with a 7.2-litre engine, better seats, central locking and alloy wheels. An improved, 330bhp version of the 7.2-liter Chrysler V8 on the 'J Series' Mark III arrived in 1974, along with all the equipment, including air conditioning, that had been standard issue on the now-discontinued Interceptor SP. A convertible body style was also introduced in 1974.

The worldwide recession of the early 1970s brought hardships to Jensen by the mid-1970s. The company entered receivership but was allowed to continue production until the available cache of parts was exhausted. 1976 was the final year of the Jensen Interceptor Mark III production. From 1966 through 1976, Jesen produced approximately 6,408 examples of the Interceptor.

by Dan Vaughan

Saloon

The second-generation Jensen Interceptors were built between 1966 and 1976. Despite frequent strikes at the factory, a penchant for rapidly rusting and a relatively high retail price, nearly 6,500 units were built which compares extremely favorably with anything the competition managed to achieve. The displayed Coupe is very rare and is said to be one of only 46 ever built, only 20 of those were North American spec left-hand-drive examples.

The Coupe prototype was first shown at the 1975 Earls Court Motor Show in London, the last Motor Show that Jensen would attend, the firm was in receivership while displaying on the stand. The Receiver had arrived only one month earlier and decided that Jensen should try to trade their way out of difficulty, hence the continuing efforts to market the cars at Motor Shows. The Coupes began life as an unfinished Convertible rolling shell. Panther Cars

Ltd. was contracted to design and build the special roofs and would install them at their facility in Surrey. The push to build the Coupe came from Kell Qvale, the American owner of the business.

The Engine used in the Coupes was the Chrysler 5-series 440-cid. V-8. Another change for the 1976 Federal Coupes was the large double bumpers, a mandated item for this market. The destination of all Coupes built was as follows: Unite: Kingdom 24, USA 18, Canada 2, Ireland 1 and Australia 1.

Of the 46 built. 44 have been accounted for and are still used regularly.

Convertible
Chassis number: 2311-1947
Engine number: 5T440 00244

The Jensen Interceptor, initially built as a saloon, used the underpinning of the preceding C-V8 model, including its chassis, running gear, and 6,276cc Chrysler engine. The 280 horsepower engine gave the Jensen a top speed of 140 mph. Stopping power was courtesy of four-wheel, servo-assisted Dunlop disc brakes, and the ride quality could be varied by the Armstrong Selectaride dampers' dashboard control. Standard equipment included leather upholstery, walnut veneer, and reclining front seats. Nearly all of the Jensen Interceptors were fitted with automatic transmissions.

The Series II had Girling brakes and a revised front suspension and the Series III of 1971 came with a 7.2-liter engine and alloy wheels. An improved 330 horsepower version of the 7.2-liter Chrysler V8 engine arrived in 1974, and air conditioning was now standard.

This particular 1976 Jensen Interceptor III Convertible is powered by a 7,210cc, overhead valve, Chrysler V8 engine with a single carburetor and delivers 330 horsepower at 4,600 RPM. It has a three-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission and four-wheel hydraulic Dunlop disc brakes. It was supplied new in the United States and at some point in the 20th century, it returned to the land of its birth. In July of 2000, the car was sold in the UK with 27,200 miles on its odometer. At the time, it wore a gold exterior with brown leather upholstery and a fawn convertible top. At some point, the vehicle appears to have been completely restored in the current medium blue metallic over beige leather — although the top remains fawn. The car was in Germany in 2008 and acquired by its current owner in January 2011.

by Dan Vaughan

In West Bromwich, Staffordshire, lived two brothers named Richard and Allan Jensen. In the 1930s, they began building a reputation through their custom bodies and auto styling. Near the end of the decade, they had begun building cars, mainly fitting large power plants in small vehicles, giving them impressive power-to-weight ratios. They are best remembered for building bodies for the Volvo P1800, Sunbeam Tiger, and Austin-Healey.

Designs from several Italian companies were studied, with the Touring design selected. The Vignale was then commissioned to build the bodies. The 2-plus-2 coupe had the engine placed in the front and powered the rear wheels. The rear of the vehicle could hold two passengers, but there was limited legroom. It was originally offered only as a hard-top model.

The Interceptor was introduced to the public at the 1966 Earls Court Motor Show in London. It was powered by an Austin 4.0 liter, inline-six-cylinder engine. Later, a Chrysler V-8 engine was placed in the front, causing an identity crisis for the vehicle. It was designed and built by Italian companies, used an English chassis, and was powered by an American power plant.

In 1967, 180 examples were produced. In 1969, it was exported to other countries, and in 1973 (its best year) produced 1,166 examples. Throughout its 10-year life span, which began in 1967 and continued through 1976, over 6380 examples were produced.

A four-wheel drive Interceptor FF with anti-lock brakes was some of the technological achievements of this production car.

Various versions of the Interceptor were powered by a Nash twin-ignition eight-cylinder engines. The Jensen brothers even experimented with 440 cubic-inch American engines. A few were created with a 440 Six Pack and dubbed the Interceptor SP. A small number featured a 426 cubic-inch Hemi engine.

The Jensen Company was facing increasing competition and production costs and ceased production of the Interceptor.

by Dan Vaughan

The 'Italian Car' Jensen Interceptor debuted at the October 1966 Earls Court Motor Show alongside the 4-wheel drive FF. Touring of Milan penned the original design, which was taken to Vignale of Turin, who had the resources to produce the car in much higher numbers than Touring. By October 1966, fully trimmed and painted body shells were sent to Italy for assembly at the Kelvin Way Factory in West Bromwich, near Birmingham, UK. A hand-built sporting GT-class car, the steel body-shelled Interceptor was produced by Jensen Motors from 1966 through 1976. From 1950 until 1957, the Interceptor name had been used previously by Jensen at the Carters Green factory. The original model sported glass-reinforced plastic and was designed in-house unlike the newer model. Vignale in Italy built the original cars, but before long, the contract was terminated for not meeting the quality standards required by Jensen and the company began producing the cars themselves at the West Bromwich factory.

The Interceptor was powered by Chrysler V8 engines beginning with the 6276 cc with optional manual or TorqueFlite automatic transmissions that drove the rear wheels in a conventional Salisbury rear axle through a limited-slip differential. Producing 335 hp SAE gross or 270 hp SAE net was the 383 c.i. in 1970. Only producing 250 hp SAE net in 1971, this engine was detuned by Chrysler for use with regular gas only and the automotive company chose instead to use the 440 c.i. Chrysler engine for 1971. Two available offerings for 1971 were two 440 c.i. engines, one with a 4-barrel carb producing 305 hp SAE net, and the other with three 2-barrel carbs producing 330 SAE net, only available in 1971. Holding the distinct honor of being the most powerful Jensen-built car, only 232 Interceptors were made with the impressive 440 Six Pak. The 440 c.i. engine with three 2-barrel carbs weren't available for 1972 and the 440 c.i. engine still available was detuned to 280 SAE net. Through 1976 Chrysler continued to offer a high-performance 440 c.i. engine when it only pumped 255 hp SAE net.

Some felt the Interceptor sported styling cues reminiscent of the Brasinca Uirapuru. The Interceptor sports a unique curving wrap-around rear window doubling as a tailgate like the Uirapuru. The sleek Interceptor featured front seats that reclined, electric windows, a wood-rimmed steering wheel, and an electric clock, reversing lights, and a radio with twin speakers. The interior of the car was stylish and obviously Italian, the likes of which had never been found before in the traditionally British Jensen. From September 1968, power steering became a standard feature.

In the fall of 1969, Jensen announced the introduction of the Mark II. This second generation arrived on the scene with updated styling around the front grille, front bumper, and headlamps. The dashboard was completely restyled and new ventilated disc brakes replaced the previous un-ventilated discs. The front suspension was redesigned replacing the king-pin type that was carried over from the C-V8 with independent, coil-sprung, ball-jointed wishbones and telescopic type dampers replacing the lever arm ones. Girling triple-piston calipers replaced twin-piston Dunlop calipers front and rear which improved the braking. Radial tires were added.

Yet another revamp was introduced in 1971 with the Mark III. The third generation introduced an updated bumper treatment, a revised front grille, and headlamp finishers. The seats were also updated, and fully cast alloy wheels joined the options list, along with some other slight updates. This year Jensen introduced the 7.2-liter 440ci engine, which replaced the 6.3-liter 383ci engine. Depending on the production year the Mark III Interceptor was divided into G-, H-, J-series.

Unfortunately, rough times were in store for the Jensen Motor Company with the onset of the worldwide recession. By 1975 a receiving company was called in to manage the wind-down and liquidation of Jensen Motors. In 1976 production of the Interceptor ceased.

In the late 1980s, a group of investors re-launched the Interceptor as the Series 4 (S4). A low-volume hand-built model, the Interceptor was marketed in a similar way to Bristol with a heft price tag of around 70,000 GBP. The body was basically unchanged from the Mark III models but featured a smaller Chrysler-supplied 360 cubic inch engine which produced around 230 hp with more modern controls to reduce emissions comparatively.

The inside of the S4 Interceptor was revamped moderately and added modern 'sport' front seats in place of the armchair style of previous models. The dashboard was much more modern and featured updated electronics.

In 1990 the current Jensen owner sold the company to an engineering company believing that they were in a better position to manufacture the car. The Interceptor lasted until 1993, with around 36 models built. Development was begun on a series 5 (S5) Interceptor before receivers were again called in, and the Jensen Company was once again liquidated.

Over the years, several variants were produced of the glossy Interceptor. In 1974 a convertible model with a power soft top was launched and a total of 267 models were produced. Though it was aimed at the American market, the convertible was also sold in Europe. A Coupé version was produced in extremely limited numbers of just 60 models produced. The Coupé's design was inspired by the convertible and lacked the distinctive Interceptor rear window.

The 1967 Jensen FF (Ferguson Formula) was one of the first production vehicles with four-wheel drive. At the time of its launch, the FF was incredibly innovative and came with traction control and Dunlop Maxaret mechanical anti-lock brakes. 320 Jensen FFs were produced during its production span, 195 of the Mark I, 110 Mark II, and 15 Mark III. Quoted as sporting 'drag-strip' performance, the FF was five inches longer than the Interceptor and looked nearly identical to it. The FF used the extra length to feature an additional side vent ahead of the doors on the front flanks, and an extension to and extra swage line in the front edge of the front fender.

Housed at Cropredy Bridge, a Jensen specialist rebuilds original Interceptors by using modern mechanisms with a GM-supplied 5.7-liter engine and transmission. Jensen International Automotive was established in May 2010. Charles Dunstone, Carphone Warehouse founder, and chairman, who joined the board of directors, financially backed the company. The Jensen International Automotive Company took over the incomplete production of a small number of Jensen Interceptor Ss, which had been started under a previous company. This production was run parallel with JIA's own production of the Jensen Interceptor R. Delivery of the Interceptor R began in 2011 at the Oxfordshire-based manufacturer and restorer.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jensen_Interceptor

http://www.joc.org.uk/Interceptor_Mk_1/History.html

by Jessican Donaldson