THE JENSEN BROTHERS
The history started back in 1934. The two brothers Richard and Alan Jensen started the making of the grand handmade cars after establishing the company Jensen Motors Limited in West Bromwich, England.
They were great innovators, constantly looking for new accievements in the making of automobiles. And they sure did accomplish a lot.
Jensen was innovators in material like glas fibre and aluminium. Innovators in car safety and luxury. And it was the Jensen Interceptor that held the record for the fastest 0 - 100 - 0 mph in the '70s, with 12 seconds.
They also had collaboration with other great carmakers, like Austin, Sunbeam, Rolls Royce, Volvo, Wolseley, Chrysler and Lotus - as well as Italian stylists like Touring and Vignale.
Audi actually bought three Jensen FF's to study when developing the Quattro in the early eighties, and today's most 4WD cars still followed FF's idea of mechanism. One can easily see how advanced the FF was, and still in fact is.
The history started back in 1934. The two brothers Richard and Alan Jensen started the making of the grand handmade cars after establishing the company Jensen Motors Limited in West Bromwich, England.
They were great innovators, constantly looking for new accievements in the making of automobiles. And they sure did accomplish a lot.
The factory got into financial troubles during the oil-crises early in the seventies. But there was new optimism when the Norwegian car importer living in San Francisco, Kjell Qvale took over the factory,
He was the biggest importer of European sports car to the U.S., and started the process of making the Jensen-Healey sportscar as a follower to the outdated design of the Austin-Healey 3000.
The factory was sent to liqudation in 1976, after finacial troubles following the new Lotus engine in the Jensen-Healey cars, where more than the first 2000 had top be recalled due to engine problems. This, following the oil crisis and the disputes with workers union demands was too much for the company.
Jensen finally closed down due to financial troubles in 1984. It started up again, but collapsed once more in 1992 after makeing only few Interceptors. Later, in the late nineties, the Jensen company was reestablished once more, and was moved to Liverpool, and i 1998 they announced the new S-V8 sportscar. This factory went into troubles after starting the production in 2002, and soon after went into liqidation once more. This fabulous carhistory awaited for the right investor to come along. Lawyers where trying to hook on some of the bigger car companies as investors, without succeeding.
RED MORE: READ THE COMPLETE HISTORY AT MOTORSNIPPETS!
Theres been a lot of celebrities owning Jensens, among these, actor Clark Gable, Cher, (Jensen Convertible), Frank Sinatra (FF), M.U.-footballer Sir Matt Busby, racing driver Gerry Marshall (541-R), Joe Bamford (FF), Jack Nicklaus, novelist Harold Robbins and comedians Mike and Bernie Winters, jazz musician Ginger Baker (Interceptors).
Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience drove a FF, which also Jimi Hendrix himself is to have driven shortly before he died in 1970.
Sir Cliff Richard, actor John Thaw and ex-heavyweight champ Henry Cooper, and nightclub-owner Peter Stringfellow have all owned Interceptors.
According to BBC, comedian Eric Morecambe reputedly had his first heart attack in an Interceptor (and convinced a passer-by to chauffeur him to hospital in it.)
Jack Straker of Beachbuggy also drives an Interceptor.
Singer Barry MaGuire drove (and smashed?) an FF (is rebuilt!).
Songwriter and vocalist Dave Walker of Fleetwood Mac also had an Interceptor, "which went like a rocket", as he says on their webpage.
A band even was named after the car, Jenson Interceptor.
Simon Dutton used the Interceptor as the Saints car in the TV-series in the 80'ies, and Roger Moore used the Jensen made Volvo 1800 in the same role in the 60'ies.
Hollywoodproducer Quinn Martin and his wife both owned Interceptor Convertibles, actress Lynda Carter, financier Winthrop P. Rockefeller owned several Jensens.
John Bonham, the Led Zeppelin-drummer, owned Interceptors and FFs as well as a rare late model Convertible with wooden dash (only a dozen were made in RHD).
Nick Mason and Robert Plant is also said to own their worn Interceptors:
Robert drove his to Nick Masons holidayplace in Sweden some years ago.
Roger Moore as James Bond in front of his P1800
Robbie Williams driving an Interceptor in his video "Road to Manderley". IMCDB om Jensen:
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicles.php?make=Jensen&model=
IMCDB om Jensen Interceptor:
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicles.php?make=jensen&model=interceptor
The history started back in 1934. The two brothers Richard and Alan Jensen started the making of the grand handmade cars after establishing the company Jensen Motors Limited in West Bromwich, England.
They were great innovators, constantly looking for new accievements in the making of automobiles. And they sure did accomplish a lot.
Jensen was innovators in material like glas fibre and aluminium. Innovators in car safety and luxury. And it was the Jensen Interceptor that held the record for the fastest 0 - 100 - 0 mph in the '70s, with 12 seconds.
They also had collaboration with other great carmakers, like Austin, Sunbeam, Rolls Royce, Volvo, Wolseley, Chrysler and Lotus - as well as Italian stylists like Touring and Vignale.
Audi actually bought three Jensen FF's to study when developing the Quattro in the early eighties, and today's most 4WD cars still followed FF's idea of mechanism. One can easily see how advanced the FF was, and still in fact is.
The history started back in 1934. The two brothers Richard and Alan Jensen started the making of the grand handmade cars after establishing the company Jensen Motors Limited in West Bromwich, England.
They were great innovators, constantly looking for new accievements in the making of automobiles. And they sure did accomplish a lot.
The factory got into financial troubles during the oil-crises early in the seventies. But there was new optimism when the Norwegian car importer living in San Francisco, Kjell Qvale took over the factory,
He was the biggest importer of European sports car to the U.S., and started the process of making the Jensen-Healey sportscar as a follower to the outdated design of the Austin-Healey 3000.
The factory was sent to liqudation in 1976, after finacial troubles following the new Lotus engine in the Jensen-Healey cars, where more than the first 2000 had top be recalled due to engine problems. This, following the oil crisis and the disputes with workers union demands was too much for the company.
Jensen finally closed down due to financial troubles in 1984. It started up again, but collapsed once more in 1992 after makeing only few Interceptors. Later, in the late nineties, the Jensen company was reestablished once more, and was moved to Liverpool, and i 1998 they announced the new S-V8 sportscar. This factory went into troubles after starting the production in 2002, and soon after went into liqidation once more. This fabulous carhistory awaited for the right investor to come along. Lawyers where trying to hook on some of the bigger car companies as investors, without succeeding.
RED MORE: READ THE COMPLETE HISTORY AT MOTORSNIPPETS!
Theres been a lot of celebrities owning Jensens, among these, actor Clark Gable, Cher, (Jensen Convertible), Frank Sinatra (FF), M.U.-footballer Sir Matt Busby, racing driver Gerry Marshall (541-R), Joe Bamford (FF), Jack Nicklaus, novelist Harold Robbins and comedians Mike and Bernie Winters, jazz musician Ginger Baker (Interceptors).
Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience drove a FF, which also Jimi Hendrix himself is to have driven shortly before he died in 1970.
Sir Cliff Richard, actor John Thaw and ex-heavyweight champ Henry Cooper, and nightclub-owner Peter Stringfellow have all owned Interceptors.
According to BBC, comedian Eric Morecambe reputedly had his first heart attack in an Interceptor (and convinced a passer-by to chauffeur him to hospital in it.)
Jack Straker of Beachbuggy also drives an Interceptor.
Singer Barry MaGuire drove (and smashed?) an FF (is rebuilt!).
Songwriter and vocalist Dave Walker of Fleetwood Mac also had an Interceptor, "which went like a rocket", as he says on their webpage.
A band even was named after the car, Jenson Interceptor.
Simon Dutton used the Interceptor as the Saints car in the TV-series in the 80'ies, and Roger Moore used the Jensen made Volvo 1800 in the same role in the 60'ies.
Hollywoodproducer Quinn Martin and his wife both owned Interceptor Convertibles, actress Lynda Carter, financier Winthrop P. Rockefeller owned several Jensens.
John Bonham, the Led Zeppelin-drummer, owned Interceptors and FFs as well as a rare late model Convertible with wooden dash (only a dozen were made in RHD).
Nick Mason and Robert Plant is also said to own their worn Interceptors:
Robert drove his to Nick Masons holidayplace in Sweden some years ago.
Roger Moore as James Bond in front of his P1800
Robbie Williams driving an Interceptor in his video "Road to Manderley". IMCDB om Jensen:
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicles.php?make=Jensen&model=
IMCDB om Jensen Interceptor:
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicles.php?make=jensen&model=interceptor