At the start of the 1950’s, Jensen had a sound commercial vehicle business providing bread and butter income and an exclusive car business making expensive Interceptor touring cars.

The bodywork was mostly aluminium but as an experiment, Jensen had started making the large boot lids in a revolutionary material formed from hair-thin glass embedded in a resinous gel; glass fibre.

The body was designed by Eric Neale in conjunction with Richard Jensen.

First, he created the distinctive ‘mouth’ shape and the rest of the body flowed back from that point.

A lattice of wooden body formers provided a reference over which skilled craftsmen beat a skin of aluminium.

The finished car was exhibited at the 1953 Motor Show but there was one trick left up Jensen’s sleeve; production cars were to be constructed of glass fibre.

The first few production cars are just known as the 541.

As production increased, the options available increased, and a package incorporating the best extras was applied ...