Jensen Interceptor SP

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THIS CAR HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN AND WILL NOW BE IN OUR NEXT SALE ON 4th MARCH

Launched in 1966, the Interceptor catapulted Jensen straight into the upper echelons of the supercar firmament – never mind Milan, Modena and Stuttgart, here comes West Bromwich!

An intoxicating mix of Italian style, American muscle and British craftsmanship, the Interceptor just oozed jet set glamour and immediately shot to the top of the wish list for the glitterati of the Swinging Sixties – Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable, Tony Curtis, Dusty Springfield and Mick Fleetwood being just a few of the celebrities seduced by the indulgent luxury and cool elegance of this charismatic GT.

Styled by Touring of Milan (with some input from Vignale who also made the first bodies), it was initially powered by a 6,276cc Chrysler V8 driving the rear wheels through a TorqueFlite automatic transmission and had dragster-like performance. By 1971 the engine had grown to 7.2-litres and there were few cars in the world that could stay with it in a straight line or match it for refinement.

In October of that year, with the oil crisis of 1973 still two blissful years away, an even mightier version was launched, the Interceptor SP. Not only the most powerful car ever built by Jensen, it was also one of the most potent cars on the planet, putting 385bhp and 425lb/ft under the driver’s foot, compared to ‘only’ 330bhp and 410lb/ft for the standard model. The SP stood for Six-Pack and referred to the three twin-choke Holley carburettors which sat atop the high-compression 7.2-litre V8 and gave the SP more grunt than a pig farm, hoofing it to 60mph in just 6.3 seconds with a top speed of 142mph.

The flagship model of the Interceptor range (its launch coinciding with the demise of the FF), the SP had every available luxury and is readily distinguished by its louvred bonnet to promote engine cooling. Air conditioning, a PowrLok diff, dual-circuit disc brakes, GKN alloy wheels and a vinyl roof also came as standard. Only 232 were made before production came to an end in July 1973, some customers undoubtedly being put off by the complexity of the Holley triple-carb set up which was notoriously difficult to keep in tune and could rarely better 14mpg even when on song, leading many owners to have them converted back to the more reliable single four-barrel Carter Thermoquad carburettor.

First registered in June 1972, this particular SP has had just two owners from new and has only covered some 72,200 miles to date with many old MOTs and other documents to prove (although it had a documented speedo change at around 71,000 miles in 1990, the odometer now reading 1,160 miles).

The vendor acquired the car from its first owner in late 1985 with some 55,000 miles on the clock and used it regularly until 1993 when an overseas posting meant it was put into storage where it was to remain until 2004, although it was periodically started and moved during this time to keep everything free. In 2004-05 it was again in use, clocking up around 400 miles, before being put back into storage until earlier this year.

The car comes with a good history file going back to the early 1980s including various bills from Jensen themselves who converted the car to single carb spec in 1988 due to the difficulties the owner was having in keeping the ‘six-pack’ in tune. They also fitted circuit breakers in place of the original fuse box in 1989 and a leather rimmed Mota-Lita steering wheel. New rear springs were also fitted at around the same time and the car received a bare metal repaint in 1991. The power steering system and rack were overhauled in 2003, while a new starter motor, alternator and battery have also more recently been fitted. In August 2012 the gearbox was also fully rebuilt and has covered only a nominal mileage since.

Recently recommissioned for sale and due to have a fresh MOT in time for the auction, the car is said to run and drive well and to be in generally good condition throughout having been always kept garaged in the current 30-year ownership and used in dry weather only. One of the rarest of all the Interceptor variants and a worthy alternative to any Aston Martin from the same era, this beautiful hand-made GT looks excellent value at the modest guide price suggested.