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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.


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Escort services – 1968 Escort 1100 Restomod

19 September, 2024

The Escort started off as a 1968 1100 cc two-door sold-new in Britain. At some point it was retired from daily duty and set aside as a pet project for someone. When that project began is unclear, but much of the work was completed in 2014 including a complete rotisserie restoration.
By the end of 2014, it was finished but not completed. Its Wellingtonian owner bought it sight unseen from the UK and it landed here in early 2020. It was soon dispatched to Macbilt in Grenada North, Wellington for them to work their magic.
Macbilt had two instructions: to get the car through compliance for use on the road; and to improve the vehicle and finish the project so it drove as well as it looked. Looking at the car now, it has an amazing presence and stance. It can’t help but attract attention and a bevy of admirers.

Lunch with … Cary Taylor

11 September, 2024

Many years ago — in June 1995 to be more precise — I was being wowed with yet another terrific tale from Geoff Manning who had worked spanners on all types of racing cars. We were chatting at Bruce McLaren Intermediate school on the 25th anniversary of the death of the extraordinary Kiwi for whom the school was named. Geoff, who had been part of Ford’s Le Mans programme in the ’60s, and also Graham Hill’s chief mechanic — clearly realising that he had me in the palm of his hand — offered a piece of advice that I’ve never forgotten: “If you want the really good stories, talk to the mechanics.”
Without doubt the top mechanics, those involved in the highest echelons of motor racing, have stories galore — after all, they had relationships with their drivers so intimate that, to quote Geoff all those years ago, “Mechanics know what really happened.”