Class struggle

The 1960s were a time of rebirth for post-war and post-empire UK. They unleashed a population that had been hamstrung in the late ’40s and the ’50s by rationing, rebuilding, and Cold War angst, powered by a new generation ready for some fun. The UK overcame its buttoned-up reputation, threw off its class constraints — for a while at least — dominated global fashion and the visual arts, and its music washed around the world.

At the time, sports cars could be had in various levels of size, power, price, and performance from a multitude of manufacturers, including the behemoths of Ford and Chevrolet right through to specialists. Many of the smaller makers, such as AC, Triumph, Austin Healey, and even larger companies like Jaguar were based in the UK and fuelled with the nation’s sense of optimism and dreams of success at home and overseas.

JENSEN BROTHERS

Jensen was another of these small fish in a big pond. The Jensen brothers, Alan and Richard, dabbled in a few car-manufacturing ventures in the late ’20s and early ’30s. They ended up working for WJ Smith and Sons, which specialised in building lorries. The Jensen brothers were set up as a subsidiary called Jensen Motors, building small sports cars. When Smith