Wynnewood Collector, Crawling in Calif. Traffic, Finds and Buys a Classic Car, Sight Unseen

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man with red Jensen Interceptor
Image via Elkin Jaramillo at The Wall Street Journal.
Dominick Infante and his 1972 Jensen Interceptor III.

When Wynnewood car collector Dominick Infante saw a rare British auto up for auction — a 1972 Jensen Interceptor III — he just knew he had to have it. His bidding process was a little unorthodox (and somewhat of a traffic hazard), but he emerged safe and satisfied. A.J. Blame revved his journalistic skill to report the story in The Wall Street Journal.

Infante, director of corporate communications at Subaru of America, recalled the 2019 transaction: He was traveling from Santa Barbara to Ojai, Calif. Stuck in traffic, he passed the time browsing his phone when he saw the car in an online auction.

The bug to bid for the classic wheels bit — hard. He wanted the car sight unseen, just based on its reputation.

“I have a small collection of old English cars,” he said. “The Jensen is different … . The Interceptor always looked so cool to me. There was something sinister about its design that I loved.”

Jensen, explained Infante, wasn’t a wholly a car designer; it manufactured panels for other automakers.

But it did craft about 6,000 Interceptors over a 10-year period. They proved popular among rock stars like John Bonham of Led Zeppelin and Ginger Baker of Cream.

Since taking title to his, Infante has reveled in its sleek power.

“I have driven it a lot,” he said. “It was built for comfortable long-distance cruising, so it goes well on the highway.

“It is fast, and drives like a limousine with a NASCAR engine,” he concluded.

The full account of Infante’s acquisition of a Jensen Interceptor is at The Wall Street Journal.

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