• Independently created one-off convertible • Shortened wheelbase • Automatic transmission • Recently completed restoration • Only some 1,000 miles covered since completion Although Jensen had favoured Ford and Nash engines in pre-war days, during the 1950s the company was closely associated with Austin, using the latter's 4.0-litre six-cylinder engine in its Interceptor and 541 models, the latter pioneering the use of glass fibre bodywork.

However, by the late 1950s the need to offer automatic transmission in luxury cars, even those of sporting character, signalled the end of Jensen's reliance on the Austin six.

The latter being deemed insufficiently powerful, Jensen turned to Chrysler's 5.9-litre V8, which came with the admirable Torque-Flite automatic gearbox as standard.

This engine/transmission package debuted in the all-new glass fibre-bodied C-V8 in October 1962, and while the car's highly individual styling was not to everyone's taste there were no complaints about its perfo...