Jensen S-V8
Five years ago, a fabulous new Jensen appeared at the Motor Show.
Making history: packed with expensive, high-quality components, the SV-8 is probably the best Jensen ever made. At £38,070 it's a bargain Well, there it was, right in front of our eyes: a production line with partially assembled cars, surrounded by all the parts needed. There was the workforce, all fired up and ready, including non-executive chairman Graham Morris, who had recently stepped down from the exalted post of CEO at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Investors had put more than £9 million into this fresh business start-up. Jensens had not been made for years but the name was bought for the prestige it still carried. Eleven top-class dealers had been signed up, the poshest names in the motor trade. The car had been displayed successfully at the 1998 Motor Show and, best of all, Jensen Motors Ltd had taken 300 firm orders for the sparkling new British convertible. That was enough to cope with at first, so they closed the order book until further notice.
The aim was to produce all those 300 S-V8s in the first year, at £40,000 each. The price would then rise to £42,500 and 600 cars were planned for the second year, when a coupé version called C-V8 would be added to the range.
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