Following On

Sometimes, there are cars which simply refuse to die. Whether it’s because their mantle is assumed by modern pretenders in kit form, or whether it’s that the old car has a life beyond that which we know in a foreign clime, there are motors which might surprise us with their long production lives. We’ve gathered together some of our favourite survivors to celebrate the classic status of the cars they couldn’t stop building.

JENSEN

Launched in 1966, it’s easy to see why the Jensen Interceptor became such a big hit. After all, it was the most successful of a wealth of cars during that decade to adopt the same formula; big American V8 melded with suave Continental styling – in this case courtesy of Touring, in Italy. Its first steel shell in two decades, the Interceptor offered style and panache at a price that its true rivals couldn’t hope to compete with, making it a firm favourite among the glitterati.

And that’s before the FF – Britain’s first all-wheel-drive supercar, and the first to be fitted with anti lock brakes. Discontinued in 1976, the first revival of the concept came just seven years later. Jensen’s Parts and Service department was sold to Ian Orford, who put the car back into production as the S4 of 1983 and 17 cars were produced before the model was discontinued in 1992, one of which was used in a revival of The Saint.

Fast forward to 2011. Cropredy Bridge Jensen in the Cotswolds is producing Interceptors which have