If you're a fan of classic British sports cars you probably had a pang in your heart for Jensen's beautiful Interceptor at some point in time, if not still. An odd mixture of European styling and road manners with American muscle, the Interceptor offered the best of both worlds, its powertrain consisting of a either a Chrysler 383 or 440 V8 with four-barrel carbs and a three-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission driving the rear wheels, or all four in the special FF model.
Italy's Vignale doesn't fabricate the Carrozzeria Touring designed bodies anymore, and they aren't still built in West Bromwich, where Jensen eventual set up shop to finish out what became a decade-long run, but Cropredy Bridge is nevertheless British and the new keepers of the flame, V Eight Ltd, certainly have the right breeding to make a success of the iconic brand.
Alan Garnett, the former Chairman of Morgan, is the new V Eight boss, and his vision takes the company and its cars far beyond the current business model. And just what is that? Much like Vicarage has been rebuilding classic Jaguar Mk IIs with modern underpinnings and upgraded electronics,
Some have tried to resurrect the Jensen nameplate before, with limited results, been restoring Interceptors to better than new condition, resulting in the Interceptor S, a car with all of the classic cues but none of the annoying idiosyncrasies that make regular people shy away from anything that requires crawling under a rotting pile of rust in a forgotten corner of some greasy wrecking yard with a socket set, ball peen hammer and can of penetrating oil in hand to attempt prying off a rare part that would cost you the price of a new Hyundai Accent if bought across the counter.
Rather than merely rebuilding the past with new components, Garnett and team are pulling out all the stops for the upcoming Interceptor SX, due to arrive in 2010. The SX will also be based on an existing Interceptor chassis (or at least the VIN plate will appear somewhere on the new car), but from front to back it will be a much more contemporary take on the classic ‘60s design, inside and out.
Garrett even reports that his V Eight engineers have managed to find more legroom inside the car, making it more livable to boot.
At least as important, the Interceptor SX will sport a much more formidable drivetrain than any previous Jensen, and abandon any ties to Chrysler in the process. The new 620-horsepower LS7 mill will spring from General Motors, maintaining the British marque's mechanical ties to the U.S. at least, while dropping the classic two-door hardtop square in the middle of supercar territory.
So far V Eight is only promising twenty-five Interceptor SX examples, and at ?145,000 there will be some questioning why they just shouldn't go buy a new Bentley and call it a day. Then again, the level of exclusivity available to Interceptor SX owners could make a Bugatti Veyron owner jealous, and that new Veyron, even in Hermes trim, can't deliver the feeling of driving a classic ‘60s super coupe.
Obviously there are some who feel such an offer can't be passed up, as V Eight had already confirmed eight orders for its new SX at the time of writing.
source:automobile
