Some 30 Jensens are to travel to Turin and back to the UK to mark the 50th anniversary of the Interceptor and FF. The return journey will replicate the 24-hour trek from Italy to West Bromwich of the Interceptor prototype on 9-10 June 1966.
What made that trip remarkable was that, due to delays at Vignale, the car ran for the first time only when Kevin Beattie and Mike Jones are thought to have driven it on the new Autostrada north of Turin on 9 June. It was then returned to the factory for minor mods before the pair headed straight off to Le Touquet and an air ferry to Lydd before the final leg.
Raising funds for the British Heart Foundation, the 2016 re-enactors will display their cars in the piazza of the Italian Motor Museum and visit the old Vignale factory before following Beattie and Jones’ route home, with the option of visiting some of the locations used in The Italian Job.
On return to the UK,the majority of the Jensens will roll straight into Windsor for the Jensen Owners’ Club’s International Meeting. See www.joc.org.uk for more.
