The Interceptor reborn: Jensen's iconic car is back with a £200,000 price tag
A legendary British sports car of the 1960s and 70s is to be reborn for the 21st century, creating hundreds of jobs.
Plans for a new version of the much-loved Jensen Interceptor, costing up to £200,000 and with a 200mph top speed, were announced yesterday.
It is expected to sprint from rest to 62mph in under 4.5 seconds when it goes on sale in 2014.
Updated classic: An all-new Jensen Interceptor is to be produced on Jaguar's former Browns Lane site in Coventry
Celebrity favourite: Princess Anne, Farrah Fawcett, Cher and Ginger Baker all owned Jensen Interceptors in the Sixties and Seventies
Only a few hundred will be built each year on the site of one of the UK’s most famous car factories, Jaguar’s former Browns Lane plant in Coventry.
The original gas-guzzling Interceptor
used massive 6.2-litre and 7.2-litre V8 Chrysler engines and was
produced between 1966 and 1976.
Designed in Italy and built in West Bromwich, it embodied the days of luxuriant moustaches, gold medallions and flares seen in the Seventies TV series Jason King.
Back for good: A much-admired GT model, the Jensen Interceptor was originally built between 1966 and 1976
Original Model: Princess Ann's favourite sportcar the Jensen Interceptor was originally built between 1966 and 1976 and looks a little different to the new version
Owners included John Thaw and Henry Cooper, and it was a favourite of Princess Anne.
UK automotive firm CPP Global Holdings is to develop and build the new Interceptor.
A team of Coventry-based designers employed by the owners of the Jensen and Interceptor brands –Healey Sports Cars Switzerland Ltd –has already completed the design.
Bringing cars to Coventry: CPP's announcement follows the news that CPP is bringing manufacturing back to Jaguar's former Browns Lane factory
Wreck: The Brown Lane plant was devastated by a fire in 1957, but is now being restored to its former glory
JENSEN INTERCEPTOR FACTS...
- The Jensen Interceptor was sporting Grand Tourer class car hand-built in the United Kingdom by Jensen Motors
- It was made between 1966 and 1976
- 6,408 cars were produced
- The car is a two-door four-seater
- It broke with Jensen tradition by having a steel bodyshell instead of glass-reinforced plastic
- The body was also the first to be designed by an outside firm, Carrozzeria Touring of Italy, rather than the in-house staff
- The engine was a Chrysler V8 initially of 6276 cc (383 c.i.)
- It grew to 7212 cc (440 c.i.) in late 1971
- The Interceptor was briefly re-introduced in the 1980s as the Series 4 (S4), as a low-volume 'specialist' motor car
