STEPHEN Duxbury would never part with his Jensen Interceptor.

The bright yellow, six-litre V8 car, first registered in 1971, was given to him by his late father Philip, who bought it in 1995.

“We picked up the car up from Grundy Mack garage in Huddersfield. I went along too,” says Stephen.

“When Dad bought it, it had done about 11,000 miles - it has only done 31,000 now. It is very comfortable but you have to remember it is an old car. It bounces a bit, the heating is terrible and the air conditioning does not work but she sounds good - it’s a soft burbling sound - and feels very safe.”

When Stephen is out driving, the Jensen - with its distinctive long bonnet - attracts many admiring glances.

“Quite often people will come over and and ask me questions about it,” he says. “I could never part with it.”

The most powerful car made by Jensen Motors, Jensen Interceptors were hand-built in West Bromwich between 1966 and 1976.

“There are only about 1,000 left on the world,” says Stephen, adding that for many years the cost of repairing them would far outweigh their value.

“For a long time they were not worth restoring - you could pay around £5,000 to replace each rotten sill. Until recently - when they started to appreciate in value - you would not have got your money back.”

Stephen’s car has also been used by Oxford Diecast as a model for its miniature Jensen Interceptor.

“The firm approached the Jensen Owners’ Club and said they wanted to produce a set of models of the Jensen range,” he says. “Matt Busby was a famous owner of a MKI and they said they wanted to make a yellow MKII. One of the committee members knew of my car and said how original it was, so they sent some pictures off . It’s nice to have a model based on your car.”

There is a small anomaly in the model - it has an MK1 ‘cotton-reel’ style headrest.

Stephen, 62, who runs a typesetting and artwork company based in West Yorkshire, loves taking his Jensen to classic car weekends and shows, both locally and across the UK.

“I go with my good friend Alan who has two classics, a Vauxhall Cresta and a Sunbeam Alpine.

“I particularly enjoy the Bradford Classic - many shows take place in fields, so it makes it all the more interesting to have car and bikes on show in a city centre.

“We also enjoy the classic car show at Hebden Bridge Vintage Weekend.”

Classic cars are in a different league to modern, he says. “They all have very different shapes, whereas modern Eurocars all have the same look, to make them aerodynamic.

“I love the shape of the Jensen, for instance, and also like the smell of classics, the leather smell as you open the door.”

There’s nothing bland about Bentleys either - one of them takes pride of place in the garage at Stephen’s home in East Morton, where his family have lived since the 1920s.

“It’s a 1995 Bentley Brooklands - the Bentley version of the Rolls Royce Silver Spirit. I would really have liked a Silver Shadow, they are fabulous - my dad had one in the seventies - but I couldn’t find one I really liked,” he says. “I had gone to a garage to see a Silver Shadow when I found the Bentley. It’s a poor man’s Bentley - the Turbo version was over £10,000 more when new. This one was created as a cheaper model to increase sales.”

Expensive to run, the car - which like the Jensen has leather seats and a walnut dashboard - does 15 miles per gallon, pipping the Jensen’s paltry 12mpg.

The model was named after Brooklands, the well-known banked race track in Surrey, where Bentley obtained some of its greatest victories in the 1920s and 1930s.

Stephen’s dad also once owned a Bentley T1, a Bentley-badged version of the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, differing from it’s Rolls Royce counterpart by its more rounded front grill.

It is not surprising that Stephen had an eye for a stylish car from a young age.

“As well as my dad, who was in the fortunate position of having nice company cars to drive, my Uncle Jack was a second-hand car dealer and was always turning up at our house in interesting vehicles. I always noticed and appreciated cars.”

He got his first car - a Triumph Dolomite - in August 1976, when he was 18. “I had passed my test the year before, but was away at boarding school in Wales so had no need for a car. When I left school I saw it for sale in a garage in Keighley.”

Among the many other cars Stephen has owned throughout his life was a 1973 MG Midget.

“My partner Richard and I bought that one to enjoy on days out. The problems with Midgets is they are a

bit uncouth - there are no creature comforts and the heater is terrible. We only had it for about two years.”

He has also owned an Alfa Romeo AlfaSud, commonly called ‘Sud’.

Not mechanically minded, Stephen doesn’t spend hours on a weekend tinkering under bonnets. “I don’t do that, but I will wash and polish all day long,” he says.

His everyday car is a Volkswagen Tiguan, “not very exciting. I wanted something a bit higher off the ground than the classic cars I drive - it is easier to get in and out of.

“It’s a 4x4, a nice, practical car.”

For adventure, he sets out on two wheels, riding a BMW GS motorbike - the bike made famous by Ewan McGregor on his TV road trips. “I go on a European tour once a year with a group of friends. It’s great fun and I missed it this year. Hopefully it be back up and running soon.”

Closer to home, he enjoys taking his

classics for a drive in the Yorkshire Dales. “I love taking the Jensen out - I think of my mum and dad when I am driving along.”

*We would love to hear from readers about their cars. Do you have a car or cars you would like to tell us about?

You may have a classic or a more modern car. Why did you choose it and how attached are you to it?

Do you have stories to tell about the motors you have owned over the years?

What does your car say about you?

We would love to see your photographs too.

If you have a passion for cars, or just love your day-to-day runaround, get in touch. E-mail helen.mead@nqyne.co.uk or emma.clayton@nqyne.co.uk.