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History lesson, folks. Those of you familiar with the classic Jensen Interceptor from the 1960s and 1970s can completely skip this introductory paragraph. For the rest of you, the Interceptor was a two-door GT Coupe (or convertible or hatchback) built by Jensen Motors between 1966 and 1976 in the UK. Powered by a Chrysler V8 ranging from 383 to 440 cubic inches (some even equipped with the famous Six Pack trio of two-barrel carburetors, and a handful of FF models included all-wheel drive), the Interceptor married a muscular drivetrain with bespoke, hand-built coachwork.

Suffice it to say, like many British enthusiasts, we have a very soft spot in our hearts for the original Jensen Interceptor, so when we heard that CPP, the company that already bought Bowler and is trying to acquire Spyker’s sports car arm and Zagato, was working on a revival, our interest was piqued. The company is being contracted by Healey Sports Cars of Switzerland (another classic British marque), which apparently holds the rights to the Jensen name.

CPP says the car will be developed in Coventry and built at a new production facility on Browns Lane starting in 2014. There’s no word on what will power the revived Jensen, but anything short of Chryser’s 392 Hemi that powers the latest SRT8 models would be a bit of a disappointment. CPP promises to show the car off by late 2012, which is still a far way off, so here’s hoping everything moves forward smoothly. Check out the rather fetching official renderings in our gallery and the press release after the break.

CPP promises modern Jensen Interceptor originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The more things change – or so the saying goes – the more they stay the same. Half a century after the originals graced the open roads and the auto shows of the early 1960s, two classic coachbuilt Alfa Romeos have been reborn in modern style. We’re talking about the Alfa Romeo TZ and the Coda Tronca – the former now heading into its fourth iteration in the form of the TZ3 Stradale, and the latter just recently remade as the Spada Codatronca Monza. And now their progenitors are set to cross the auction block.

Regarded in the same light by Alfa aficionados as the 250 GTO is by the Ferrari faithful, the original TZ (so named for its tubular space frame and Zagato coachwork) made a remarkable 1-2-3-4 class finish upon its race debut at Monza in 1963, complimented the same year by class wins at Sebring, Le Mans and the Nürburgring as well as an outright win at the Alpine Rally the following season. Only 112 examples were made, and this particular model – chassis #750006 – was prepared by Autodelta (the same Alfa tuner still operating in the UK) and fully restored to its original 1964 Le Mans condition after single-family ownership of 23 years.

Likewise bodied by Zagato, this 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ “Coda Tronca” (chassis #0184) is one of only 30 such examples made out of 200 total SZs. Its Kamm-tailed body gave it its name, a shape which its original designer Ercole Spada reprised for his eponymous modern Corvette-powered special and which led to the development of the aforementioned TZ.

Both of these historic examples feature DOHC four-cylinder engines (1.6 liters and 150 horsepower for the TZ, and 1.3 liters and 135 hp for the Coda Tronca) mated to five-speed manual transmissions. They’re set to join the Bertone prototypes and the Art Deco classics at RM‘s forthcoming auction at Villa d’Este, where the TZ is expected to fetch €475,000-€575,000 (0k-835k) and the Coda Tronca €260,000-€300,000 (7k-435k). With their modern successors destined for the garages of the extremely fortunate, we could hardly imagine better stablemates to join them. Have a closer look at each in the galleries below and delve further into their histories in the backgrounders after the jump.

[Source: RM Auctions | Images: Dirk De Jager, Simon Clay/RM]

Continue reading Alfa Romeo Zagato classics consigned to join their modern counterparts at Villa d’Este

Alfa Romeo Zagato classics consigned to join their modern counterparts at Villa d’Este originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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