The rebirth of the Jensen brand
Jensen, a classic British brand founded in 1934, has had more start-ups and closures than a traveling circus. But he's on his way again.
The two Jensen brothers, Alan and Richard, took on the job of building custom bodies for various British manufacturers such as Singer, Morris, Wolseley and Standard, before being commissioned by American actor Clark Gable to design a car powered by a flathead Ford V8 engine.
In 1935, it became a real hit and became the Jensen S-Type. Beautiful roadster models appeared, and just as things were looking rosy, World War II broke out and car production came to a halt.
In 1946 they caught fire again with the Jensen PW luxury sedan. It was followed, from 1950 to 1957, by the popular Interceptor. Then came the 541 and the CV8, with the latter using a big Chrysler engine instead of the Austin 6.
Jensen also built bodies for Austin-Healey., and released their own sports car, the hapless Jensen-Healey prone to trouble.
At various times, Jensen also produced cases for Goldie Gardner's record-breaking MG K3. Volvo R1800, Sunbeam Alpine and a variety of trucks, buses and jeeps.
In 1959 the company was transferred to the Norcros Group and in 1970 to the American car distributor Kjell Kwale. In the middle of 76, Jensen stopped trading due to the sad history of Jensen-Healey's troubles.
Britcar Holdings then got involved, but it was soon sold to Ian Orford, who brought the Interceptor back into production as the Mk IV. A total of 11 cars were produced before the company was sold to Unicorn Holdings, who also made just a few cars.
The spectacular Jensen S-V8 two-seater convertible was unveiled at the 1998 British Motor Show and 110 orders were placed. However, only 38 made it to the production line and only 20 left the factory. The company went into administration in mid-2002. In 2010, SV Automotive started operations, followed by JIA and then CPP (not City of Perth Parking).
Now, two men who are intimately familiar with Jensen's methods are rebuilding the old Jensen from scratch to keep the name alive. The trademarks of Jensen Motors Ltd are Gregg Alvarez, who worked for the original firm as a young apprentice, and Steve Barbie, who has extensive marketing experience in the classic car and engine tuning industries.
Jensen Motors Ltd has ambitious plans to produce eight examples of genuine Jensen models to celebrate the brand's 80th anniversary this year. “We want to continue to preserve and protect Jensen vehicles as a shining example of British engineering and heritage,” he said. Good luck. Jensen deserves a break.
