Oof: 973hp Jensen Interceptor GTX revealed
Track-only special previews future roadgoing GT with retro-inspired looks and a big American V8
A Jensen revival has been on the cards for some time now. Earlier this year, the company, now Jensen International Automotive (or JIA), announced its intention to build an all-new ‘luxury British GT’ to expand beyond its run of Interceptor R restomods. While initial teaser images previewed a road car with a sleek, coupe-like silhouette, JIA decided to instead switch its focus to building a track-only special to debut its first-ever ground-up design. Now the covers have come off, and it’s clear the Interceptor GTX is like no Jensen we’ve seen before.
Not least because this is the first brand-new Jensen we’ve seen in quite some time. Granted, the lineage is a little muddled, with the last production car to wear the Jensen Motors badge, the seldom-seen S-V8 of the early noughties, having been designed and built by former owners Creative Manufacturing Systems. JIA, meanwhile, began life as a Jensen restoration firm in 2010, though it has only recently acquired the rights to use the Interceptor name on a design of its very own. So with almost two decades of Jensen restoration know-how and the Interceptor name now in its pocket, it only seemed fitting to reboot a bloodline that’s lain dormant for half a century.
As seen in the initial teaser images, the Interceptor GTX’s silhouette bears a passing resemblance to the old brute it’s named after. Where a traditional coupe’s roofline would taper downwards for the sleekest look possible, the GTX’s continues a little further before gradually trailing off towards a low, boat-tail-style rear end. Just like the original Interceptor, then, albeit with some of the quirkier angles from the old car’s Carrozzeria Touring design ironed out. The humungously long bonnet and a quartet of LED headlights also hark back to the original, though JIA has succumbed to the industry trend of whacking a light bar on the back.
In the metal, the GTX is a properly intimidating-looking thing. You’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s been developed for Pikes Peak, with an aggressive multi-tiered splitter at the front, bargeboards down the sides, a monumental diffuser and a towering rear wing. It’s all functional, too. While the car is still very much under development, the firm is using computer fluid dynamics (or CFD) to help the GTX cling on for all its might around high-speed corners. Now, a stripped-out luxury barge shouldn’t really work in principle, probably because we haven’t seen anything like this before. Most manufacturers usually prefer to base their track specials on smaller, lighter sports cars for obvious reasons, but JIA has no intention of benchmarking the GTX against other track-only cars like the Maserati MCXtrema or Ferrari 296 Challenge. Instead, it’s purely designed to be enjoyed by whoever’s behind the wheel, rather than chasing lap records.
If you thought that sounded good, wait till you see what’s lurking behind that massive bonnet: a 6.8-litre supercharged V8 based around a Gen 5 LT block from General Motors. It has, however, been completely overhauled with a dry sump, CNC-machined heads and titanium valves, resulting in a design that’s almost entirely unique to the GTX. It’s good for 973hp in its current guise, though JIA says the setup can manage 1,200hp and 1,100lb ft of torque without breaking a sweat. Naturally, that’s all sent to the rear wheels through a Wavetrac differential, with a ‘motorsport-grade’ adjustable traction control system to save you from a potentially embarrassing trip to the gravel trap.
A nose around the engine bay reveals just how far back the block is, with JIA claiming a weight distribution of 49:51. The chassis, meanwhile, is “fairly conventional”, says company boss David Duerden. It’s a bonded and riveted aluminium monocoque, with double-wishbone suspension at each corner containing custom, manually adjustable Nitron dampers. The brakes are AP Racing calipers with steel discs, which have been chosen over the carbon equivalent for consistency and durability, while the 20-inch wheels come wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber, not slicks, as it’s a more approachable tyre for non-professional drivers.
Then there’s the bodywork, designed by British firm Avant, which is handmade from aluminium. A long-lost art, but one Duerden, who has built a career in carbon composites, argues is actually far more straightforward to work with. That, of course, comes with a slight weight penalty, with the GTX tipping the scales at 1,660kg, which doesn’t sound outrageous, although when you consider the interior’s been stripped of everything save for a pair of bucket seats and an Alcantara-trimmed dash - and there’s Perspex in place of proper glass - it’s hardly a featherweight. Not that JIA is all that bothered. What underpins the GTX is (or will become) a big, plush grand tourer, where a little extra heft is to be expected.
That just highlights the unorthodox way JIA is going about the Interceptor’s revival. Most would choose to launch a production car first, then release a performance special or two before the track-only prototype brings production to a close. The reason JIA has flipped that on its head is that it's horrifically expensive to develop a production car from the ground up. By going in with a track-only prototype, the company can create a show car that not only looks the part, but can also move under its own steam (which PH can verify after witnessing the GTX’s thunderous fire-up). Duerden says the whole project, from a blank sheet of paper to the car you see here, cost around £1.2 million. Pennies compared with the many millions it costs to prime a car for road use.
Not only that, but the GTX can serve as a development mule for the road-going Interceptor. Or, road-going Interceptors, as there are currently two on the drawing board. The first being a four-door GT, which the firm eyes as the true modern successor to the original Interceptor, and the second a two-door GTR version that effectively serves as a road-legal GTX. However, the way the company approaches those cars entirely depends on how the GTX is received. If customers want an all-wheel drive version, they’ll steer development towards it; the same goes for different powertrains. A big V8 is the natural choice for the track car, but the platform is adaptable enough to take an assortment of engine (or battery) configurations. There’s even a sizeable gap in front of the engine, which is taken up by cooling on the GTX, that could house a hybrid system if needed.
“We’re taking that process one step at a time and, crucially, making sure that each stage is properly funded, designed, engineered and developed”, says Duerden. “We’re very clear about what we want those next stages to become, while being fully flexible to work with our customers and respond to their specific needs.” That’s ultimately how the GTX came about. Jeff Qvale, son of former Jensen Motors owner Kjell, came to JIA for an Interceptor of his very own. He’s since become one of JIA’s backers, effectively commissioning the madcap track car you see here.
What happens next seems to depend on how big the queue outside the firm’s Banbury headquarters will be once the cat’s out of the bag. Pricing and a release date haven’t been mentioned yet, and the road variants remain firmly in the 3D world for now. But given how up in arms folks have been about Jaguar’s electric Type-01, a four-door, V8-engined grand tourer could be the elixir for all those yearning for something more traditional. If that’s you, be sure to let them know.
In this case, for me, the track version doesn't make me want the road-going version, in fact it has put me off.
This suggests a business model that suggests enough very wealthy people want another trackday car, minus the pedigree of AM, or Porsche or Ferrari, who will use it it once and then?
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