Although Jensen of West Bromwich espoused American Ford V8 and Nash engines in pre-war days, during the 1950s the company was closely associated with Austin.

An outstanding though much under-rated Grand Tourer, the Jensen 541 embodied the Jensen brothers’ traditional virtues of a big engine and high overall gearing in a smaller, sportier package than the Interceptor saloon’s.

The 541 deployed the latter’s 4.0-litre Austin engine in a shorter, ladder-frame chassis, designed by John Riekie, which nevertheless contrived to offer significantly greater rear seat room than most of its rivals, while Eric Neale (previously with Daimler) laid out the new aerodynamic body.

Introduced at the 1953 Motor Show, the 541 pioneered the use of glassfibre bodywork and, like the Interceptor, used Austin A70-based suspension and transmission components but followed Jensen’s own steering geometry, rack-and-pinion steering a later introduction.

And if the four-speed gearbox was not the 541’s strongest po...