Land of hope and faded glory.
May 19th 2008 14:24
The recent announcement of the rebirth of the Jensen Interceptor for the fourth time, has got Autoloud wondering. Exactly where would the modern automobile industry be without the British?
We have discussed the burning shell that is the current British motor industry before but lets face it, over time they have made a major contribution to the automotive world.
Although the current batch of global marketing genuises continue to pander to niche marketing (even where there were previously no niches!) the British industry of yore would release new cars without really knowing who would buy them.
The birth of Landrover in 1948 was brought about by the experience of driving US issue jeeps in World war 2. The Landrover was a simple, rugged Khaki or military grey box that ruled the world from the Australian outback, throughout Africa and even Farmer Browns green English fields. This was a vehicle that forced the Japanese to eventually catch up in the form of the Toyota Landcruiser. The Range Rover arrived in 1970 complete with vinyl trim and four speed manual gearbox, if you compare that with the Bentley on stilts that masquerades as a Range Rover today and you have to ask, what happened?
Speaking of Bentley. The luxury market grows ever larger thanks to the nouveau riche of Russia and China. The sales champions of this new era in decadence being Rolls Royce and Bentley. Both names bringing a whiff of historical signifance to the vehicles that bear the badges. Interesting thing is, they are now both owned by German companies, why? Simply put there is no substitute for a names like these, you cannot build a luxury brand overnight. No, I wont mention Maybach. Toyota also proved this with Lexus, it has taken in excess in ten years and in the eyes of the rich and famous are they really in the same ballpark?
The arrival of the revolutionary Mini in 1959 designed by Sir Alec Issoginis became the blueprint for the majority of small cars that were to follow. Placing the wheels at each corner and mounting the engine transversly opened up previously undreamt internal space. The influence of the original Mini is still felt today.
English sports cars,continue to be discussed in hushed tones of reverence. Why? Well its rude to speak ill of the dead! Names like Austin Healey, Triumph and MG although all gone, influence the designers of today. Think Honda S2000, Mazda MX5, BMW Z3 and remember the Suzuki Cappachino, that was an Austin Healey Sprite/MG Midget clone if ever there was!
All this, brings me back to Jensen. The NEW Interceptor "S" looks the same as the old
" Styled by Touring" one, is now powered by a 414bhp version of the Chevrolet LS2 V8 engine. Handbuilt in a shed in England somewhere, they are only building 50 and 27 of those are already sold! What else does 74,960 Pounds Sterling buy you?
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