Jensen PW

Jensen’s first postwar design was known as the 4 Litre or PW, an ambiguous designation which might have reflected either the Post-War era or the Park Ward coachwork then being applied to Bentley and Rolls-Royce cars which Jensen emulated. Hand-built by men who had built the great Jensens of the pre-war era, the PW was normally made as a four-door saloon, although two convertibles were built. The last PWs were made in 1951 by which time Jensen was focusing on the design which replaced the PW, a much more sporting machine unveiled in prototype form in 1949. PWs used several kinds of engine. Initially the plan was to give it an all new Meadows alloy straight-8 of high specification. However, Jensen Motors did not have the finances to underwrite production so the first PWs were built with leftover pre-war Nash straight-8s. In the late 1940s, an arrangement with Austin Motors provided Jensen with access to the 4-litre 6-cylinder motor from the Princess range. The Nash-engined cars were recalled and Austin units substituted in 1951, with the last few PWs built with Austin engines from new. Only 18 PWs were made. No examples are known in Australia but the example pictured, now in a Brussels museum, was used by the Australian Embassy in Belgium after the war.