There’s An All-New V8 Jensen Interceptor Coming Which I Bet You Didn’t See Coming

You know what’s a cool car? The Jensen Interceptor. A British GT fastback with a big American V8 and gobs of presence. These were fantastic, athletic-looking cars, bold and handsome and fast. There were even versions of the car, the Jensen FF (for Ferguson Formula), that were AWD road cars, over a dozen years before the Audi Quattro hit the scene. If you and three friends wanted to go somewhere fast and in some genuinely head-turning style, it was hard to beat an Interceptor.

It seems that I’m not the only person who thinks this, because Jensen International Automotive (JIA), which currently builds resto-modded original interceptors, is teasing an all-new Interceptor. And, unlike so many re-imagined motoring icons that threaten to come back in modern form, this one isn’t an EV. It’s the opposite: a VE, as in Vee-Eight.

Here’s what the press release from JIA has to say about it:

“Inspired by the iconic 1960s Jensen Interceptor, JIA’s first-ever clean-sheet-designed product will be completely new from the ground up. The car will blend an elegant yet striking contemporary body design with an aluminium chassis and a bespoke V8 engine to ensure a fully analogue driving experience, delivering a thoroughly modern take on a luxury British GT.”

Interesting, right? Here’s the teaser image they provided:

That’s not a whole lot to go on, except I suppose it still has the general fastback shape of an original Interceptor. The proportions are much lower and in line with modern cars, which is a bit of a shame, I think, as one of the things I always liked about the original interceptor is its tall greenhouse:

That illustration, by the way, is from a Chrysler Brochure where an Interceptor was just snuck in, because that’s how cool they are. But back to this new Interceptor; let’s see if we can see anything else in that teaser image. Computer! ENHANCE!

Mmmm, there’s not much more there. I hope there will be something similar to the Interceptor’s bubble rear window and that shark fin-like C-pillar, but I can’t tell. There does seem to be some kind of reverse-rake detailing at the rear quarter?

The car is said to have an aluminum chassis and a “bespoke V8,” which means, I suppose, that they’re developing their own engine? Even the original Interceptor didn’t do that, as it used Chrysler V8s. Is what JIA is developing really going to be better than, say, a crate LS motor or something like that? I guess we’ll see.

I’d also like to note that this press release and photo were sent out under embargo, which I forgot about, so this is a bit later than you may have seen on other outlets, but why exactly was this embargoed? Is this really timely news you need at a specific time?

Oh well. I’m just excited to see how this turns out; the Interceptor is, in my opinion, a truly iconic car, and seeing a modern take on this car seems exciting to me, even though they’re going to build these in very low quantities and the chances of encountering one will be, let’s be honest, pretty low.

But still! A new Interceptor!

Top image graphic: Jensen International Automotive