JENSEN

Interceptor

The Jensen Interceptor is a hand-built grand touring car produced at the Kelvin Way Factory in West Bromwich, near Birmingham in England, by Jensen Motors between 1966 and 1976. The Interceptor name had been used earlier by Jensen in the 1950s, but it returned in 1966 on a thoroughly modern car whose handsome steel body, topped by a vast wraparound glass tailgate, was styled by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan, with the first bodies built in Italy by Vignale before production moved to England. Rather than develop its own engine, Jensen turned to Chrysler for big, torquey and reliable American V8s, first a 6.3-litre (383 cu in) unit and later a 7.2-litre (440 cu in) engine, both driving through an automatic gearbox to give the Jensen Interceptor effortless high-speed cruising. The car's most remarkable variant was the Interceptor FF, which used a Ferguson Formula four-wheel-drive system with Dunlop Maxaret anti-lock brakes, making it the world's first four-wheel-drive non-off-road production car. The Interceptor evolved through the Mk I, Mk II and Mk III, plus a convertible and a rare coupe, before the 1970s fuel crisis and Jensen's financial troubles ended production in 1976 after about 6,496 cars. The Jensen Interceptor remains a uniquely British blend of Italian style, American muscle and craftsmanship.