|
|
|
Jensen |
| Carloanshub » Cars » Car Manufacturers » Jensen |
|
|
|
|
Jensen Motors Ltd, one of the car manufacturers, was a British manufacturer of sports cars and commercial vehicles, based in West Bromwich (in the West Midlands, west of Birmingham). A Jensen today is a prized possession.
In 1934, two brothers Richard and Alan Jensen worked at W.J. Smiths & Sons and on the owner's demise, bought out the body works to start a small coach building firm run which they renamed Jensen Motors.
|
They built exclusive customized bodies for standard cars produced by famous manufacturers of that time such as Singer, Morris, Wolseley and Standard.
In 1934 American film actor Clark Gable commissioned them to design and build a car for him on a Ford V-8 chassis. The car they made fetched them many accolades so much so that apart from more interest in their body work, they won a deal with Ford to produce Jensen-Fords with Jensen bodywork on a Ford chassis. In 1934, they also started designing their first true production car under the name White Lady, that evolved into the Jensen S-type and was in production in 1935.
In the late 1930s under the marque JNSN, Jensen starting producing commercial vehicles including unique lightweight aluminium alloy trucks for the Reynolds Tube Company and the articulated Jen-Tug prototype that went into production in the late 1940s.
During World War II, Jensen focused on the war effort and made components for military vehicles including tank turrets, specialized ambulances and fire-engines.
As the Jen-Tug production went well, Jensen made JNSN lightweight diesel trucks and chassis which were used for many vehicles that included buses and pantechnicons.
In the late 1950s Jensen were chosen to build the bodies for four-wheel-drive Austin Gypsy.
Offerings after the war included Jensen PW (a luxury saloon) and the Interceptor built from 1950 till 1957 (in 1946 body designer Eric Neale had joined from Wolseley). In 1955, production started of the 541, a Neale masterpiece using a fiberglass body followed by the CV8 in 1962 with a six liter Chrysler V8.
In 1955, Jensen started production of Neale's masterpiece, the 541, which used the then-revolutionary material of fiberglass for its bodywork. The 541 was replaced by another Neale design, the CV8 in 1962, which replaced the Austin-sourced straight-6 of the previous cars with a 6 litre American Chrysler V8. This large engine in such a lightweight car that it made the Jensen one of the fastest four-seaters of the time. Its follower, the interceptor was launched in 1966. There also followed the Jensen FF, with many path breaking technical features.
In the early 1960s Jensen were busy with development and production of the Sunbeam Tiger.
Jensen Motors ceased trading in May 1976. Two new companies: Jensen Parts & Service Limited (JP&S) and Jensen Special Products (JSP) were created. Both JP&S and JSP were e bought by a holding company, Britcar Holdings and in 1982, JP&S, with the rights to use the Jensen brand names, was sold to Ian Orford.
A 2001 revival with a GBP 40,000 S-V8 panned out and by end 2002, production had stopped.
For more information on car related matters, browse carloanshub.com
|
| |
|
