From the beginning until World War 2.
Jensen started out building bodies on other companies chassis, mainly Ford V8s. This is Clark Gable with a 1936 Jensen-Ford
The White Lady, the prototype tourer that was to lead to the first Jensens, the 3.5 Litre Models. This car used the Ford V-8 engine and transmission in a chassis of the Jensen brothers’ own design, although the production cars used a strengthened version of the Ford chassis.
The 3.5 Litre Drop-Head Coupe. There were also Open Tourer and Saloon versions
The 1938 S-Type Continental Touring Saloon. Price: £720.00 ex-works.
Jensen were showing the 3.5 Litre and the new, upmarket 4¼ Litre models. The latter sported a longer wheelbase and the Nash overhead-valve straight-eight engine. With the chassis numbers prefixed with the letter H, these cars are referred to as H-Types.
Regarding the new 4¼ litre model, on 25th October, 1938, The Motor stated: ‘It is felt that the man who is prepared to pay a fairly high price for a car is entitled to expect that he may use it to the best possible advantage no matter what the road conditions may be. Similarly, it is fair to presume that such a buyer may wish to do quite a lot of his motoring on the Continent or still further overseas. Conditions encountered in this country are so much less severe than those to be found elsewhere, that the Jensen has been designed to cope with all emergencies.’
The Early Jensen story will continue…