- A British firm is developing a new coupe inspired by the Interceptor.
- JIA upgrades classic Interceptors and now plans an all-new model.
- The ‘analog’ V8 coupe will ride on a bespoke aluminium UK chassis.
Aston Martin has gone from boom to bust and back again multiple times in its 112-year life, but while the company behind the DB5 has managed to just about hold things together, some of its rivals from that period weren’t quite so fortunate. But one is making a return with a brand new GT that could make a DB12 feel as bespoke as a Golf.
The company is Jensen, most famous for the 1966-76 Interceptor whose wrap-around rear window is still one of the most iconic screens in the car world. Now, 50 years after the last of the original first series of Interceptors left the line, Jensen International Automotive says it’s getting ready to reveal a modern coupe built around a brand new, bespoke aluminium chassis.
Related: The Jenson Viperceptor Has An 8.3-Liter V10 And Weighs Just 2,799 Lbs
JIA was founded in 2010 and has an established business selling upgraded versions of the original Interceptor, but this new car is its first all-new vehicle. Details are sketchy at this stage and we only have one silhouetted profile image to go on, but that clearly shows an outline borrowed from the brand’s most famous creation.
V8 Muscle
Beyond the aluminium chassis, the company reveals the new coupe will deliver an “analog” driving experience and feature “bespoke” V8 power, though we doubt it’s talking about building its own engines. The original Interceptor used big-block Chrysler V8s, while JIA employs GM LS3 and LT4 supercharged V8s for its upgraded cars.
Whether that power goes solely to the rear axle, we don’t yet know. The original Interceptor was rear-wheel drive, but its 1966 FF spinoff (visually almost identical but with a longer wheelbase) pioneered the idea of all-wheel drive and anti-lock brakes on a performance car more than a decade before Audi unleashed the Quattro.
Limited Production
Prices and and a date for a full debut are still unknown, but since the car will be hand-built in the UK in tiny numbers by a separate JIA team and new from the ground up, it’s not going to be cheap.
This isn’t the first time since the 1970s that we’ve seen a new car wearing the Jensen badge. As a cub reporter back in 2001 I was dispatched to the launch of the Mustang-powered, TVR-rivalling S-V8, but within a year the company had gone belly-up. Hopefully this new one has more staying power, and channels plenty of the spirit of the original Interceptor (shown below), but not its 12 mpg thirst.
