Another retro sports car is being revived. The Jensen Interceptor was a British V8-engined coupe built between 1966 and 1976, and these official pictures show how a modern interpretation of the elegant GT will look when it gets its public unveiling in late 2012, before going on sale in 2014.
CPP, a Coventry-based coachbuilder and owner of Spyker sports cars, has won the contract to engineer, develop and build the new Interceptor from the brand's Swiss owners, Healey Sports Cars.
Based on an all-new aluminium platform with aluminium bodywork, the newcomer will be extremely light for its size. It will use the same four-seat layout as the original and features many of its forerunner's design cues - including the wraparound rear screen, vents behind the front wheel and quad headlights.
Annual production numbers and pricing are yet to be released, but will be capped to maintain exclusivity. There's no word on the engine or gearbox either, but as the original used an American V8, a powerplant borrowed from the current Corvette seems likely.
Brendan O'Toole, founder and co-owner of CPP, said: "The Jensen design team has respected and honoured the great heritage and attributes of the original Interceptor, while injecting a contemporary edge and advanced technologies that will ensure it appeals to the passionate, discerning motoring enthusiast of today.
"This work is at an advanced stage, and married to CPP's expert coachbuilding, craftsmanship and engineering skills, the new Interceptor will be an exceptional example of British automotive excellence."
TOP GEAR NEWS
Tashtastic! A new Jensen Interceptor is coming...
Get ready to play good-cop/bad-cop/camp-moustachioed-cop: there’s a new version of Top Gear’s favourite 70s GT
Unleash the moustache comb, ready your finest karate chop and begin stacking piles of empty cardboard boxes: the Jensen Interceptor is back!
British firm CPP – the company behind the mad Bowler off-roader – has confirmed that it will bring this sleek four-seater into production next year, complete with all-aluminium chassis and ‘ultra-exclusive’ price tag.
It will be built at Jaguar’s former Browns Lane plant in Coventry, and will bear the Interceptor name: CPP was appointed to engineer and build the car by Healey Sports Car Switzerland (HSCS), which owns the rights to the Jensen name.
Don’t confuse this car with the spruced-up Seventies classic that inspired the telly boys to become ‘The Interceptors’ in the last series: that car used a classic Interceptor body underpinned with some very modern Corvette bits. This is an all-new car. CPP hasn’t released any technical details, but we’d expect the new Interceptor to get a historically accurate V8 under the bonnet (the original used 6.2- and 7.2-litre Chrysler blocks), albeit with rather more power than its predecessors. These days you can’t keep pace with suspiciously swarthy baddies unless you’re packing at least 500bhp.
CPP says the first production Interceptors will arrive in 2012, though the first customers won’t receive their orders under 2014, which gives them plenty of time to groom their handlebar moustaches to a state of bushy, twitchy readiness.