The Jensen Interceptor is back – and faster than ever

The legendary Jensen Interceptor is being reinvented for a new generation with the £1 million Interceptor GTX, an all-new aluminium grand tourer that combines the marque’s analogue character with modern performance...

If, as is widely accepted, the Jaguar E-Type was the quintessential car for the 1960s sporting gentleman, the Jensen Interceptor could well have been described as the car for the sporting cad.

Launched in 1966, the Interceptor was something of a mongrel that combined gorgeous-but-practical bodywork, designed by Carrozzeria Touring of Italy, with a huge, American Chrysler V8 truck engine, the two being married together on an assembly line at West Bromwich in the heart of England.

But the Interceptor’s multinational lineage  did nothing to prevent it becoming a “car of  the stars”, with its list of celebrity owners ranging from Frank Sinatra to Clark Gable and Tony Curtis. Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham got through seven of them, despite dying at just 32, while regular owners almost invariably proved to be raffish types with a penchant for fast living.

And if you liked to live fast, an Interceptor was certainly the car to own. In its ultimate form,  it featured a 7.2-litre engine producing up to  385 horsepower – enough for a top speed of almost 240km/h.

By 1976, the Interceptor’s gas-guzzling thirst and a parlous global economy put paid to the fun and Jensen went bust. Various attempts were made to revive it throughout the 1980s, 90s and into the 2000s before the marque was reborn as Jensen International Automotive in 2010 with a plan to buy original Interceptors, strip them down and rebuild them.

Since then, JIA has not only carried out multiple such restorations at its facility in Banbury, UK, but has also branched out into creating “restomod” Interceptors that combine the car’s recognisable looks with modern, high-performance General Motors LS3 V8 engines,  AP racing brakes, upgraded suspension and mod cons such as traction control, ABS and air-conditioning. The improvements make the cars far more usable and reliable than the originals – although, while an original Interceptor in excellent condition might cost around £70,000, a JIA restomod will set you back up to £400,000 (including the base car).

But even that sum pales into insignificance compared with the £1 million anticipated price of the firm’s latest project: the spectacular Interceptor GTX, a car that’s all new from the ground up and promises to bring the Jensen name well and truly into the 21st century.

Featuring a bespoke aluminium chassis, hand-built aluminium grand tourer bodywork and a V8 petrol engine, the GTX is intended to provide a truly analogue driving experience in a car that’s built for high-speed continent crossing. And to ensure the GTX is replete with the distinctive character of Jensens of old, JIA has brought Jeff Qvale on board to help with the project. He’s the son of late legendary Norwegian-American car importer Kjell Qvale – having once been the majority shareholder in the original Jensen business. “For me, this project is very personal,” he says. “Jensen was a big part of my father’s life, and my family history.” jensen-sales.com

First published in the July 2026 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.