The Jensen Interceptor story

30 May, 2019

 


 


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The cover car of New Zealand Classic Car issue 341 is a gorgeous NZ-new example of one of the most likeable of great English classics, the Jensen Interceptor III. Famous for its audacious glass hatch, the Interceptor’s long bonnet and outrageous (by UK standards) six or seven litre engines, it was undoubtedly for the well-heeled, but it avoided the snobbery attached to Aston-Martin, Bentley and their ilk.


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It retained the same shape throughout its life giving it a kind of purity, and its clean and distinctive lines appeal as much today as they ever did. It appeared in the top tier almost out of nowhere, and then it was gone. Ashley Webb’s story gives us the curiously not-well known background to a car that’s among the absolute best of British.


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Someone else agreed with us, before we even knew it. They had written a coffee table book on the history of the Jensen, and have sent us a copy for review. We’ll publish the review in an upcoming issue of NZ Classic Car.

You can buy a copy of New Zealand Classic Car issue 341 now by clicking the cover below.

This could be good news for restoring cars and bikes – but we must be quick!

Our parliament is currently considering a member’s Bill, drawn by ballot, called the ‘Right to Repair’ Bill.
It’s due to go a Select Committee for consideration, and we can make submissions ie say what we think of it, before 3 April this year. It’s important because it will make spare parts and information for doing repairs far more readily available and this should slow the rate at which appliances, toys and so on get sent to landfill.

1959 Sunbeam Alpine: A road trip with Lady P

The romance of the road
The South Island begins to reveal its unbelievable beauty and clarity of light as we weave and bend past mountain peaks, blue flowing rivers, and bright green forests. Today, while the cutlery wheel continues to chime, there are no morbid rattles, and we are still alive. The road moves beneath us and I start to really understand what a road trip is all about: the warm analogue hum of the engine, the sensory overload of wind and sun, the dreamy pageant of shapes and colour that glides by like a movie set, not a cloud in the sky.