Jensen S-V8

About this model

Witnessing the 1993 demise of the company they worked for, Leyland DAF employees Robin Bowyer and Keith Rauer decided to go off on their own, forming Creative Group Ltd., a company specialising in sub-contracts for design and tooling manufacture. The company soon grew to a multi-million-pound concern, but it was the undertaking and finishing of the contract of a certain American roadster that would instigate the development of the car in question.

That contract was by Chrysler's brand Plymouth, which by the '90s had become stale and bloated amongst waves of faster, sleeker and more modern imported machinery. The once-powerful Plymouth name had been reduced to forgettable models with not much to write home about in terms of performance. To 'spice up' Plymouth's lineup, designers were given free rein to pen a car that would reflect a modern, yet classic approach to the brand. And the Prowler was the result - a retro-looking throwback to the hot rod culture of yesteryear.

As this project was unconventional for Plymouth to say the least, the contract for the body tooling was passed onto Creative. However, when the Prowler hit the streets, it was compromised with a wheezy V6 engine and archaic four-speed automatic transmission. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for Creative to design a sports car themselves, using the techniques they learnt during the Prowler project, but one strictly without compromise. The Prowler wasn't a sales success, and the follow-up PT Cruiser became a Chrysler when Plymouth folded in 2001.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐚𝐫

It was decided that in order for the car to succeed, it would need a British name with some prestige and heritage. The Healey (of Austin-Healey) name seemed perfect, and while negotiations began with the Healey family, Creative contacted two of Jaguar's most respected designers, Howard Guy and Gary Doy, and asked them to pen some ideas for the car, dubbed 'Project Rio' and to be powered by a General Motors-sourced V6 (as fitted in the Vauxhall Omega).

Negotiations with the Healeys fell through, but luckily Creative had a solution. Hugh Wainwright, the former director, held the rights to the Jensen name and was seemingly willing to sell the rights to Creative. His sad passing in 1997 meant that the transaction was passed onto his widow, Judith, and, therefore, this new car was to become a Jensen.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐕𝐮𝐥𝐜𝐚𝐧

A series of customer-oriented forums were held, and one thing was clear: it had to have a V8 engine. The niche British sports car market was largely dominated by V8-engined TVRs, and there was no way a seemingly dull V6 could have the same appeal. Thus, it was out with the V6 and in with Ford's all-aluminium, 4.6-litre V8, as found in the Mustang SVT Cobra - the project was now renamed 'Vulcan'. This engine produced 325 bhp for Jensen, and would be fitted to a five-speed Tremec T45 transmission and Hydra-Trac limited-slip differential.

However, the suspension was the complete opposite of 'off-the-shelf'. Creative took it upon themselves to design an entirely bespoke layout in-house, featuring double unequal wishbones and dual-rate coil springs on each corner, Koni shock absorbers and front and rear anti-roll bars. The steering was by the conventional rack-and-pinion design and the braking by ventilated discs, two-pot callipers in the front and single-pot callipers in the rear.

For display use, the prototype's bodywork was constructed from fibreglass, but the production cars would receive a combination of galvanised steel and aluminium - the peripheral chassis, sill panels and rear wings were made from steel, and the other panels from dent-resistant 6016 T4-grade aluminium alloy. This was where the new car would differ from Jensens of old, as unitary construction methods won over the traditional, yet outdated, method of 'body-on-frame'. The result of this was a torsional stiffness of 13,000 Nm.

Guy and Doy had now set up their own design consultancy firm named 'Design Q' and had settled on a design. It clearly bore a resemblance to Jensens of old but was distinctly modern and unique for the times. And, with a two-seat, roadster layout it would directly compete with cars like the TVR Chimaera. Standard equipment included 17-inch, six-spoke alloy wheels, electric mirrors, and a heated rear screen, with optional extras including 18-inch sports wheels, metallic paint, full-leather seats and air conditioning.

𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Now named the 'S-V8', the car debuted at the 1998 British Motor Show in Birmingham. Creative claimed that not only did it tip the scales at 1280 kg, but it would accelerate to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and onto a top speed approaching 160 mph, making it the fastest Jensen to date! By the end of the ten-day event, Jensen Motors Ltd had taken sixty confirmed orders, at just under £40,000. The new car also came backed with an eleven-strong UK-based dealer network, and, following the media spotlight following its exhibition, the order tally soon reached 300.

The plan was to build 300 S-V8s in the first year, and to (rather optimistically) increase production to 600 in the second year. However, the initial investment funds were slow in materialising and it looked unrealistic that Jensen would fulfil their orders, even if they planned to realise a hardtop version - the C-V8 - a year later. Unfortunately, the C-V8 was never more than a refresh of the fibreglass S-V8 prototype and lacked working doors, an engine, and most of an interior.

𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞

In March 1999, Jensen appointed former Rolls-Royce chief executive Graham Morris as chairman, with him tasked with locating sufficient investment funds, and remedying some of the quality issues production had been facing. After fixing these problems, his plan was to move production from Redditch to Speke Hall Industrial Estate in Liverpool, where he could obtain funding from the government.

In August 2001, S-V8 production started at a purpose-built facility in Speke. Noted Jensen historian Keith Anderson was brought in to write the literature, select the colours and trim options, and help train the dealers and mechanics. But, this optimism was short-lived, and further build quality issues (huge panel gaps, non-functioning electrics, etc.) prevented the S-V8 from ever getting off the ground. Morris resigned soon after, and, in July 2002, the Speke factory closed with only 22 cars produced. All thirty-five employees lost their jobs and all that was left behind were a few unfinished cars (and many disgruntled customers).

𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞

Almost a year later, Oxfordshire-based SV Automotive purchased the unfinished cars from the administrator, and a two-year permit to complete them. However, the build rate was a challenge for such a small company and the decision was made to switch the body material from aluminium to steel, increasing the car's weight by 80 kg. Some other elements were altered also, making the S-V8 more practical and desirable to buyers, who now had the price reduced to £35,497 for a base model, or £38,070 for one with 'all the trimmings'.

SV Automotive managed to finish around forty S-V8s before their permit ran out, and the S-V8's legacy faded into obscurity, save it for a selection of parts and tooling purchased by a Hampshire-based specialist. This was the saving grace for the confirmed 33 owners, as, even today, parts can be produced and located, as well as upgrades performed for reliability.