The Jensen 541 is an automobile which was produced by
Jensen Motors
Jensen Motors Limited was a England, British manufacturer of sports cars and commercial vehicles in West Bromwich, England. Brothers Alan and Richard Jensen gave the new name, Jensen Motors Limited, to the commercial- and sports car body-making ...
from 1954 to 1959. It was first exhibited at the
London Motor Show
London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thame ...
in October 1953,
and production started in 1954.
The 541 used fibreglass bodywork mounted on a steel chassis and was fitted with a
straight-six engine
A straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balanc ...
, three
SU carburettor
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor or carburetter)
is a device used by a gasoline internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the Vent ...
version of the 4-litre
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
engine and four speed
transmission
Transmission or transmit may refer to:
Science and technology
* Power transmission
** Electric power transmission
** Transmission (mechanical device), technology that allows controlled application of power
*** Automatic transmission
*** Manual tra ...
with optional
Laycock de Normanville overdrive.
The body consisted of three major mouldings and the entire front was rear hinged and could be raised for engine access. The doors were aluminium. Suspension was independent at the front using
coil spring
A tension coil spring
A coil spring is a mechanical device that typically is used to store energy and subsequently release it, to absorb shock, or to maintain a force between contacting surfaces. It is made of an elastic material formed into the ...
s with a
Panhard rod
A Panhard rod (also called Panhard bar, track bar, or track rod) is a suspension link that provides lateral location of the axle. Invented by the Panhard automobile company of France in the early twentieth century, this device has been widely use ...
located
rigid axle and
leaf spring
A leaf spring is a simple form of spring (device), spring commonly used for suspension (vehicle), suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, e ...
s at the rear. A choice of wire spoked or steel disc wheels with centre lock fitting was offered.
At first the car had servo assisted
drum brake
A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of Brake shoe, shoes or Brake pad, pads that press outward against a rotating bowl-shaped part called a brake drum.
The term ''drum brake'' usually means a brake in which shoes press o ...
s but from 1956, the newly introduced 541 Deluxe version featured
Dunlop disc brake
A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the #Calipers, calipers to squeeze pairs of #Brake pads, pads against a disc (sometimes called a rake
Rake may refer to:
Common meanings
* Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines
* Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct
* Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game
...
rotor) to create friction. There are two basic types of brake pad friction mechanisms: abrasive f ...
s both front and rear—the first British four seater thus equipped.
It was also considered a luxurious car with the interior featuring leather seats as standard. The individual seats in front were separated by a high transmission tunnel and the rear seats had a small centre armrest and could also be tilted forwards to increase luggage space. Standard colours (1955) were black, ivory, imperial crimson, moonbeam grey, Boticelli blue, deep green and Tampico beige.
By employing lightweight materials, Jensen managed to make the car significantly lighter than their contemporary
Interceptor model, with a dry weight of as against the older design's .
Performance benefitted.
In 1957 the
541 R was introduced, and in 1960 the
541 S arrived with wider bodywork and revised grill styling. Production of the Jensen 541 ended in 1959 and the
541 S early 1963 when the range was replaced by the
C-V8.
Performance
The Jensen 541 was a fast car with a claimed and top speed of (both subsequently increased) at launch.
A car with overdrive tested by the British magazine ''
The Motor
''The Motor'' (later, just ''Motor'') was a British weekly car magazine founded on 28 January 1903 and published by Temple Press. It was initially launched as ''Motorcycling and Motoring'' in 1902 before the title was shortened. From the 14 ...
'' in 1955 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 10.8 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £2146 (with the optional overdrive) including taxes. In 1957
Richard Jensen had a 541 deluxe built with a
Chrysler Hemi engine
The Chrysler Hemi engine, known by the trademark Hemi or HEMI, refers to a series of high-performance American overhead valve V8 engines built by Chrysler with hemispherical combustion chambers. Three generations have been produced: the Fire ...
but no performance or fuel consumption figures are known for this vehicle.
The basic car cost £1821
Drophead Coupé De Ville by Abbott Of Farnham
Two examples of the 541 were converted into
drophead coupés by Abbott of Farnham.
Gallery
File:Jensen_541_Prototype.jpg, Jensen 541 Prototype (featuring aluminum bodywork)
File:WPK 541 - 1954 55 Jensen 541 Drophead Coupe.jpg, One of the two Jensen 541s converted into drophead coupés by Abbott of Farnham
See also
*
Jensen 541R
*
Jensen 541S
References
{{Jensen Motors timeline
541
Sports cars
Cars introduced in 1954