A quick perusal of online descriptions of the 900's history makes it clear that the best way to drive a Lotus fanatic nuts is to ask "Hey, wasn't that there engine based on the Vauxhall Slant Four?" Long story short, Lotus used the Vauxhall engine block for cylinder-head development, as the Vaux's bore centers were identical to the planned Lotus engine's. Engines in the 900 series were manufactured for nearly 30 years and powered the Elite, Eclat, and Esprit, plus the Jensen-Healey. Available in 2.0 and 2.2 liter displacements, the most powerful production 900s produced 280 horsepower in turbocharged form.
[Wikipedia, Jensen-Healey Preservation Society]

So let's look at a really nice daily-driver Jensen-Healey down on the Alameda street. That's right, you heard right, this Malaise Brit is a daily driver! The owner tells me he's had the car for 20 years, and that the electrical system has always worked fine, right down to the dashboard clock; he acknowledges the miraculousness of this achievement: "They must have been having a good day at the Lucas plant."


It's powered by the Lotus 907, aka The Torqueless Wonder. The US-spec version of this engine made 140 horsepower out of 120 cubic inches, which was completely berserk for the Malaise Era (for comparison purposes, you might note that the 350-cube V8 in the '74 Camaro produced just 145 horses).

I live in Alameda, you've featured my roomate's car before - 1966 Coronet Vert...... BTW, he sold it, had a strong 440 in it - getting a complete frame off soon by the new owner. Now he has a '74 Ghia Convertible, parked in the same place.

Anyway, I have an eBay business on the side, sell vintage Euro parts (mostly overseas). A lot of BMW 1980's stuff, Volvo 240's, Mercedes, etc..... So I'm at the yards a lot. Came across some interesting Euro Trash........... two Jensens in the same row! One 4 cyl, one small block chev? Also a nice GTV a few rows over....

Oh man, this one hurts. As you may know we are at the age and pathetic financial situation where a man begins to look around for his project car. As you may also know, Jalopnik hearts shooting breaks brakes, especially British ones. This very good looking example of how screwed up the British auto industry was of Jensen-Healey's Lotus engined darling is right here in Southern California and just dying for a new owner (the current owner, at 6'6", is too tall to fit). So what if the engine needs to have its timing belt replaced every 18,000 miles (no, really — look it up) and the asking price is just a small percentage of what it will cost to keep this beauty on the road? I don't care. Do you care? As fate would have it we saw a stunning white convertible Jensen GT just today in Glendora (don't ask). After chasing the car for 15 miles, we realized how much better she would look as a two-door wagon. If there are any über-rich Jalopnik angels out there, now is your chance to shine! Also, don't look at the rear bumper. – Jonny Lieberman

1976 Other Makes Jensen GT [eBay Motors]

Related:
Nanjing, Revival Firm Plotting Austin-Healey Return; The Topping Of All Is The Most Precious Metal In The World: Stutz Diplomatica! [Internal]