Beschreibung:

In 1928 two young brothers, Richard and Allen Jensen, built bespoke coachwork on an Austin Seven chassis. This was no 'Austin Seven Special' because though Allen was only 22 and Richard 19, the Jensen brothers were both brilliant stylists and superb craftsmen and this first car was their showcase. It worked very well as an announcement of their talent because, before long, they had no shortage of supporters and backers. Within a very short time, Jensen was established as one of Britain's leading coachbuilders, turning mundane cars into stylish machines. They were following William Lyons and his company, Swallow Sidecars, which became Jaguar. They took Fords, Standards and Wolseleys and turned them into objects of desire. Bristol Street Motors of Birmingham, then as now, one of Britain's leading Ford dealers, commissioned the brothers to provide a range of special bodies it could sell and Clark Gable ordered a Ford with a Jensen body. Hollywood's hottest property was happy to be photographed with the car, which did Jensen no harm at all. Just as William Lyons had progressed from being a maker only of special coachwork to making whole cars, in 1936 the Jensen brothers did the same and chose American Ford components fitted to a stiff X-frame chassis. Jensen thus joined Brough Superior, Railton and Allard in combining American mechanical excellence with British chassis design and style. The Jensen 'S' was available as a sports saloon or ‘Phaeton’ tourer. Production seems to have been around fifty cars, which was respectable for the small market niche at which it was aimed. Jensen's main business remained car bodies and it made those for the Volvo P1800, for example, into the 1970s. Jensen was always at the forefront of technical innovation and its FF model of 1967 was the world's first car to have four-wheel-drive and it was also the first to have anti-lock brakes as standard. These facts were omitted from the press releases from certain companies in the 1980s. The Jensen 'S' was a very good car in 1938 and one of the earliest examples of successful Anglo-American motoring collaboration, decades before the AC Cobra appeared. It had a fine chassis, proven mechanicals, and the flair of two exceptional stylists. The fact that Allen and Richard Jensen were also superb craftsmen kept everyone in their factory on their toes. Jensen cars were exceptional because of the attention to detail. Perhaps only about ten Jensen 'S' models exist today. The car we offer has the ubiquitous 3,631cc Ford V8 engine (those who chose the 2.2-litre option were disappointed.) It was restored to the highest standards in the 1980s for the Stern Collection of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and it is described as being in 'excellent' condition throughout. The dual cowl Phaeton coachwork incorporates the very best styling cues of American sports of its day: the twin scuttle cowls and the flowing wing line. It is finished in ivory white with red wire wheels and coral leather upholstery. It has been little used since its restoration and comes to the sale from the USA, so local taxes will be liable upon importation (5% for the EC via the UK). La Jensen "S" était une excellente voiture en 1938. Elle était dotée d’un excellent châssis, avec une mécanique qui suivait, et d’une carrosserie élaborée grâce au talent de deux stylistes exceptionnels. Peut-être seulement dix Jensen "S" subsistent aujourd’hui. La voiture que nous vous proposons est équipée du mythique V8 Ford de 3631cc (ceux qui avaient choisi à l’époque le 2,2L furent déçus). Elle fut restaurée dans les années 80 pour le compte de la Collection Stern de Pittsburgh, en Pennsylvanie. Elle est décrite actuellement en excellentes conditions à tous points de vue. La carrosserie ‘Phaeton’ était typique de l’industrie automobile sportive américaine de son époque (rappelons-nous les Duesenberg par exemple) et Jensen s’en est ici très largement inspiré: le pare-brise avant jumelé à un double saut-de-vent pour les passage