1969 Jensen Interceptor MK1

The car with the coolest name on the planet, of course it is! Thankfully it has the muscular looks, brawn and the low bass-filled V8 burble to perfectly pull it off too. From every angle these are the Brit’s best bash at a muscle car, gorgeous coachwork, a huge American V8 and twin exit exhausts finish the look. With only 326 of these on the road last year, they are still a very rare car and so much better value than its contemporaries.

 

This particular car has been fully restored in its lifetime (to the tune of £70,000.00!) which clearly shows in its current state, which is truly sublime, on top, inside and underneath too. We like taking on only the best cars we can get our hands on here at HPC and this one is no different. With fabulous paintwork, an interior that will put most to shame, a tidy engine bay and mechanically as fresh as they get.

 

Step inside, sit behind that delightful turned alloy steering wheel and turn the key and the deep cacophony is emitted from the pipes, settling to an almost evil and raspy blub, blub, blub – the sort of noise that lets everyone around you know that you’re in the coolest car there has ever been, it isn’t loud, it is refined, but just as good as any cars exhaust note has ever been, it’s a certain top ten for sure!

 

Pop the car in drive and you’re off, it is almost unimaginable for the time that a car of this grandeur could be as swift as this, that is until you get into a corner, where the chassis will surprise you even further – a technical marvel that had actually come out years prior with the C-V8. It is wholly troubling that a car of this era, can be so well appointed and yet handle as though it were half the weight. It can only be described as on par with the very best of today’s largest cars, such as a Range Rover SVR for example, the effects on the mind are much the same. So impressive now, let alone back then.

 

In short, it looks fabulous, drives brilliantly, sounds amazing and grabs admiring glances wherever you go, I’m not sure there are many cars more universally loved than the Interceptor!

Like our FF, this car has quite an outstanding history behind it, after all, the history is what truly makes these cars so special. With only 2 previous owners, one of which lived minutes up the road from us here and thus the car has been seen attending our local shows in 2011 & 2012 (Magnificent Motors in Eastbourne).

 

We have 2 folders full of history and a third matching folder with the workshop manual inside it, such is the quality of the ownership this car has had over the past years.

 

We have almost every document you could wish for apart from the original service booklet; We have the instruction booklet, original build sheet and original invoice / order. Factory service records, MOT’s dating back to 1977 and invoices all the way up to date in 2023.

 

The car was a company vehicle transferred to its owner after the first three years, he was based in London at the time and he moved more locally to us as time went on. As the car aged, he begun the task of restoring it. Thus, he bought a donor car for parts in 1981, little did he know that it would be Sir Cliff Richard’s old car! Quite a stir has been caused in trying to find out which parts this car has from it. I’m sure plenty & others would have been sold to fund the project at the time, however, another interesting part of its long and impressive history. The car underwent its first comprehensive restoration and was finished and on the road for many years.

 

The car was updated to MK3 specs, with running gear, interior, wheels etc… in an attempt to make the most reliable and best Interceptor the years could muster. Overall, £85,000.00 was spent on its restoration that was completed in 2008, the car still presents very well to this day.

 

After this period the car was acquired by his son, kept in the family and the only new owner since its build is the current owner, who has a fabulous and eclectic collection to his name. The car underwent a transformation to bring the car up to his standard after a few years of use. The car has been returned to MK1 spec, with the correct rocker covers, interior newly re-covered and wheels have reverted to the correct Rostyle set. All of this carried out at great expense and all by the best in the business when it comes to Jensen’s - Rejen. The total spend in 2021 alone totals over £28,000.00 with a few hundred more spent to ensure that the car is on the button and ready to enjoy for its new owners in 2022.

 

You may have noticed the louvres in the bonnet, which aren’t standard for a MK1 - it was decided to keep these as they are a common upgrade amongst Interceptor owners, due to experiencing very high engine bay temperatures, meaning overheating in traffic was a common sight and owners having anxiety on warm days of cooking their coolant was commonplace, thankfully this car has none of those woes and is ready to let you lap up even the best summer traffic, ideally the queue into the Goodwood Revival, which it has already done to prove itself!

 

So, there you have it. A mechanically wonderful car, which presents beautifully in its gorgeous Biarritz blue over ox-blood leather, great brightwork, with a gigantic and exciting history file, low owners and is on the button ready to enjoy this summer, you’ll need to try quite hard to beat this one…

 

TOTAL NUMBER OF PREVIOUS OWNERS: 2

TRANSMISSION: 3 speed automatic

ENGINE CAPACITY: 6,276cc

ENGINE SPECIFICATION:

Maximum speed  133 mph

Power   325 bhp

0 – 60  7.3 seconds

PRICE: £67,995.00 - ONO