Jensen 541
The first product of the Jensen factory after the second world war was the 541, which was presented at the London Motor Show in 1953. The car was remarkable in that it is a glassfibre body on a separate chassis. It was powered by a four litre inline six, fed by three SU carburetors. This engine was borrowed from the heavy Austin Sheerline limousine and with a stroke of 111 mm, high revs were anathema. Initial power output was only 130 BHP at 4000 BHP, giving the car a topspeed of 170 kph. The next step in the development of the car was the 541 de luxe, which appeared in 1956, and became the first four seater car fitted with four disc brakes. In 1957 the 541R appeared which had a more powerful engine, now producing 152 BHP at 4100 BHP.
In total 226 541s and 193 541Rs were produced, with production running from 1955 to 1960.
A further variant appeared in 1961, named 541S, which had the same engine as the R, but the body was slightly enlarged. Also the characteristic air intake in the nose had disappeared. It had such luxury features as a Hydramatic autobox, a heated rear window and safety belts. Of the S version 127 examples were sold, a low number as it was already produced in parallel with the CV8.
Shown here is a 541 (not sure whether it is an R version) at the Interclassics 2005 in Maastricht.