Lot 255 - 1960 Jensen 541R

At the start of the 1950's, Jensen had a sound commercial vehicle business providing bread and butter income and an exclusive car business making expensive Interceptor touring cars. The bodywork was mostly aluminium but as an experiment, Jensen had started making the large boot lids in a revolutionary material formed from hair-thin glass embedded in a resinous gel; Glass Fibre. The body was designed by Eric Neale in conjunction with Richard Jensen. He first created the distinctive 'mouth' shape, and the rest of the body flowed back from that point. A lattice of wooden body formers provided a reference over which skilled craftsmen beat a skin of aluminium.  The finished car was exhibited at the 1953 Motor Show but there was one trick left up Jensen's sleeve; production cars were to be constructed of glass fibre.  The first few production cars are just known as the 541. As production increased, the options available increased, a package incorporating the best extras was applied to the car marketed as the '541 deluxe'. Rack and pinion steering was the latest innovation and was marketed as the 541R. The body changed at the same time with striking curves or strakes being added. These appeared over the rear wheel arches and on the bonnet leading to an air vent. In 1959, work started on creating a slightly larger 541, which would be better suited to long-distance cruising.

This splendid 541R is a manual gearbox model with the added benefit of overdrive. A comprehensive history file accompanies the Jensen and clearly this has been a very well looked after example with no expense spared. The current vendor has owned the car for the last 18 years and has all the MoT certificates issued during his stewardship; throughout that period, the 541R has covered a mere 10,000 miles. Finished in green with soft tan leather interior, this example is supplied with the original buff log book and original handbook together with a current V5 document and an MoT test certificate valid until 12^th July 2012. A very stylish and enigmatic sporting tourer.