Oxford 76JEN005 Diecast Jensen 541R Metallic Royal Blue

 

The Jenson 541R preceded its more famous relation, the Interceptor by nine years but is probably a rarer beast as only 193 were made during its short lifetime between 1957 and 1960. Built by Jensen in the UK and designed by their Eric Neale, it was classed as a closed, two-door, four-seater GT class car which came with a 4.0L Austin 16 engine and a 4-speed manual gearbox.  The original prototype was unveiled as early as 1953 at the London Motor Show with an aluminium body but upon production, this was superseded by glass fibre. Being more lightweight, it achieved 125 mph on test and as a result became a motoring sensation.

 

In 1:76 scale, our 541R is decorated in a glorious shade of metallic blue, complemented by masses of silver trim and registered 222 BPL.  The Jensen badge sits on the front of the bonnet and again across the centre of the boot while the 541R marque is cleverly integrated into a chrome circle in the radiator grille. The 541R represents a very small but nonetheless worthy part of UK motoring history to be recognised and included along with similar niche models in the Oxford range.