The 1970s through to the early 1980s was a rough time for the British automotive industry. A combination of strikes, recessions, politics, and plain old mismanagement led to many of the country’s well-established automakers going bust. Austin, Triumph, and Morris are among the big names in British motoring that went to the wall during this period. Jensen was also one of the casualties, with its factory doors closing in 1976 after years of poor sales, recalls, regulations pushing it out of the U.S. market, changes of ownership, and issues with factory output.
As with many defunct auto manufacturers, there have been a few revival attempts. The rights to the Jensen name, and its vehicles, changed hands a few times in the 1980s, though very few vehicles were actually produced during this period. A two-seater convertible known as the “S-V8” was launched under the Jensen name back in 2001, but the project quickly crumbled and the revived company was seemingly defunct just a year later.
In 2015, there were reports in Autocar of a company called “The Jensen Group” forming plans to release a new GT model. The vehicle would have a very limited run, be priced at around $350,000, and may have just provided enough funding to relaunch the manufacturer properly — if it actually made it into production. At the time of writing, close to 10 years have passed, no Jensen GT has hit the road, and everything indicates that the new company is no longer active.
