The Jensen Interceptor has earned its place among British cars that were unique, quirky, stylish, fun to drive, and short-lived. Jensen Motors built the Italian-styled grand tourers between 1966 and 1976 near Birmingham. Italian design house Carrozzeria Touring of Milan – in particular, designer Federico Formenti – gets credit for styling the original Interceptor with its loooong hood that suggests it was inspired by the runaway popularity of the Jaguar E-Type.Jensen SalesAnd now the Interceptor is poised to return as an "ultra-high-performance" model with a hand-built aluminum body, aluminum chassis, and a bespoke V8, all dedicated to delivering "an immersive analog driving experience." It's officially called the Jensen Interceptor GTX – no connection to the fearsome Plymouth GTX that ruled American streets in the classic muscle car era – and is slated to debut soon in the UK.The car we'll see sometime this quarter will be in pre-production form, launched under the direction of Jensen International Group, which has a division that specializes in restoring and re-engineering the classic Jensen Interceptor. Part of the team developing the Interceptor GTX is Jeff Qvale, son of former Jensen Motors owner Kjell Qvale. The younger Qvale spent his teen years in the original Jensen Motors factory in the UK, when his father was the company's major shareholder. Somewhere Between Aston Martin And Bentley Jensen International Automotive (JIA)For now, we only have two teaser images to hint at the new car's overall styling, but there's certainly a similarity to the classic Interceptor. The hood is long, though not quite as long in context with the rest of the body versus the original Jensen. The teaser shows a modern version of the old C-pillar that narrows at the top, though it stops short in a modern floating roof motif. For a deeper look into Jensen's past and its plans for the future, CarBuzz reached out to a Jensen admirer to find out what the new clean-sheet vehicle must achieve, while paying tribute to the original Interceptor.Mike Shaffer"It has to have great styling. No matter where you go in an Interceptor, it stops traffic. The new one must do the same," said Dominick Infante, who owned the 1973 Interceptor Series 3 pictured above and leads Subaru communications in the US. "If it has an Italian-designed exterior, even better, bringing back the tradition of Jensen, Dual-Ghia, Monteverdi, and Iso Grifo, all of whom blended Italian styling with durable American V8s. So, style, power, and comfort."Hyman Infante maintains that Jensens were never sports cars – more like a British interpretation of a muscle car. "Their goal was to be somewhere between an Aston Martin and a Bentley, but more exclusive than a Jaguar." He said Kjell Qvale was an Austin Healey dealer and created the Jensen Healey with Donald Healey after the 3000 stopped production in 1968. He purchased Jensen in 1970.When brothers Alan and Richard Jensen decided to create their own car brand (but using existing, off-the-shelf engines, such as the 7.2-liter Chrysler Big Block 440 V8 in Infante's car), they tasked Touring of Italy to style the Interceptor, while the bodies would be built in steel by Vignale in Italy. "They quickly started building the bodies and the whole car in their (UK) factory due to the poor quality of the work being done by Vignale," Infante said, adding that the Jensen brothers considered the Interceptor a success, building some 6,000 cars in 10 years. British Muscle Car Roots Bonhams While noting the many previous attempts to revive the Interceptor using the old body, Infante said he's eager to see the new GTX in full, beyond the rear-end and silhouette teaser photos above. "It could have a shot if done well. Think TVR power with better styling and comfort," he said. "Maybe a better Bitter coupe."As for finding the sweet spot for pricing the new Interceptor, Infante said it could fall between $150,000 and $250,000, "if the style and speed are enough. People seem to have no problem spending that on Porsche 911s. Would be interesting to see if they could be closer to $100k – the car version of the Grenadier SUV," he said, referring to Ineos' efforts to revive the classic Land Rover Defender.But the new Jensen International insists the Interceptor GTX "is not a ‘continuation’ of any previous Jensen model, while Jeff Qvale said the new project is very personal for him.“Jensen was a big part of my father’s life and our family history. Hand-built to the utmost quality, the Jensen Interceptor GTX will set new benchmarks and provide the pure, high-performance, ultra-analogue driving experience that discerning clientele are now demanding.”