A special Jensen Interceptor is born
02/21/2013
The idea of having a very special Jensen Interceptor built and pursuing it step by step was born in a bar group in 1968. The car was named "Topic Jensen" (loosely translated from the company name "Topic").
John B. Ball, the CEO and motor vehicle correspondent, was behind the £ 5,000 project and he also chose a new color that had not previously existed in the Jensen range: "Topic Red".
As a journalist, Ball naturally also described the entire production process and Jensen used the material in a brochure "A Car is Born".
It took around 10 weeks to build a Jensen Interceptor. The chassis was completed in around 44 hours. Then the body, made of pressed and welded sheet steel, was put over it and the "car" went to the paint shop. The color, a dark métallic red, first had to be developed over weeks of work. It had a phosphorescent effect, meaning it changed its appearance depending on the incidence of light. The roof, which was to be silver in contrast to the rest of the vehicle, was first sprayed and then covered after applying the primer and surface preparations, so that the rest of the car could then be given its red color. The layers of paint were applied while the lower layer was still wet.
The finished painted carriage was then gradually ompleted in the "fitting line", which took another 100 hours. Late in the production process, the Chrysler V8 engine was then sunk into the front of the car.
After completion of the Topic-Jensen, the car was driven 150 miles and checked in all its functions. It was even given a water bath to ensure that the luxury GT would not let water in when it rained.
After the extensive test drive, the missing parts were fitted, such as the leather seats. Ball had a "Slot Sereo" cassette player installed as an extra, otherwise the basic equipment was already complete, including Britax seat belts, electric windows and rear window heating.
Over the 10 weeks, the car had undergone 14 inspections and any faults had been corrected immediately by the "people who care", i.e. the people who feel responsible for building a special car. There were 400 of them at Jensen in 1968.
The brochure "A car is born" can of course be found in the Zwischengas archive. And much more information, pictures and documents about Jensen can be found on the brand page.
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