Vehicle Description
Launched in 1966, Jensen's incredibly innovative (and desperately
complicated), four-wheel drive FF, was extremely expensive to
produce and only sold in very small numbers. So, when Kjell Qvale
took over Jensen in 1970, he decided to create a new, less costly
and labour intensive flagship. As the Interceptors all came fitted
with a big-block Chrysler engine, he simply chose to increase the
power of the existing set up, using stock Chrysler components. In
place of the standard 383 cu.in. engine, he chose the 10.3:1
compression ratio, 440 cu.in version and, to spice it up still
further for this new top-of-the-range beast, he opted for the
triple-twin-choke induction system (or 'Six-Pack', as it was known
in the States). All these upgrades required no major modification
to the existing Interceptor and so, the production cost increase
was minimal. Stated power was up by over 85 bhp (though in reality,
it was probably an even greater increase). This made the SP
(Six-Pack) the most powerful Jensen ever produced and in fact, one
of the most powerful cars in the world, at that time.
Unfortunately, the early seventies fuel crisis and other economic
factors meant that only 232 of these behemoths were built and of
these, only 13 in left hand drive.
Offered here then, is a very rare car indeed. Delivered new to
Switzerland, one of only 2 SPs finished in Flag Red, it is one of
the thirteen, genuine, left hand drive SPs. Brought to the US in
1990, it was returned to the Jensen factory for some refurbishment
and upgrades in 1991. In 2009, the last owner switched out the
automatic transmission for a period-correct, four-speed, manual
Chrysler gearbox. This transformed the performance of the car, with
a far broader set of gear ratios, thus enabling it to pull through
the rev-range far more freely than the original, three-speed,
automatic whilst being much faster off the line, yet revving much
lower at freeway speeds. In addition to the transmission swap, he
performed a host of other upgrades to increase the driveability and
performance of the car, including crank-fired ignition, modern A/C
components, HID headlights and much more. Currently in good,
'driver' condition, the body and undercarriage appear straight and
rust free whilst the interior contains both original and
refurbished elements, though ultimately, it could benefit from some
tidying. Mechanically, the car is very strong and the matching
numbers engine pulls like a train on the road! Inspections
encouraged. All sales AS-IS. Sales tax and license fees due if
delivered in California.