![INCONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION](https://cdn.magzter.com/1343919541/1660051296/articles/egzm_mHu61660214718205/INCONSPICUOUS-CONSUMPTION.jpg)
One is a formal, elegant four-door German saloon with that giant engine: the original 'banker's hot rod', indistinguishable from half a dozen of its more pedestrian siblings in all but those magic numbers on the right-hand side of its bootlid. The other car is a svelte, boutique grand tourer: American-powered and Italian-styled, but from a bravely innovative British specialist manufacturer. Only the double wing vents and a stainless-steel roof-hint at its high-tech status as the world's first four-wheel-drive high-performance road car.
But do the Jensen FF and Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 really compare? They would have appealed to similar people: buyers more sensitive to image than cost, who had grown out of sports cars but were still keen on driving; who didn't want another Jaguar and considered themselves too young for a Rolls-Royce. At £7273 for the import-duty-inflated Mercedes and £6857 for the Jensen, these cars were pitched into the Silver Shadow class and represented about the most you could pay for an owner/driver vehicle with four seats and high-performance overtones that was also a practical means of transportation.
Unlike certain Italian exotics that were making overtures at the four-seater market, the 6.3 and FF were neither toys nor fashion statements, but working vehicles designed to ease motoring anxieties and massage wealthy egos.
For the purposes of this essay, let's ignore the disparity in the size of the rear seats and the number of doors: they were probably less of a deal-breaker than you might imagine in period.
This story is from the September 2022 edition of Classic & Sports Car.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 2022 edition of Classic & Sports Car.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![From little acorn s...](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1165/1692380/zPznrGPE51715168475775/FROM-LITTLE-ACORN-S.jpg)
From little acorn s...
The feisty Visa Trophée was an unlikely Group B rallying candidate, and a stepping stone towards Citroën's WRC supremacy
![FORD RANGER RAPTOR](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1165/1692380/iGkNnwrWY1715168328584/FORD-RANGER-RAPTOR.jpg)
FORD RANGER RAPTOR
OTT workhorse is a kid-pleasing head-turner that mixes business with pleasure
![MERCEDES-BENZ SL (R230)](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1165/1692380/RETprMXY01715168076298/MERCEDESBENZ-SL-R230.jpg)
MERCEDES-BENZ SL (R230)
The tech-heavy SL is becoming a sought-after classic with increasing specialist support
![By Royal appointment](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1165/1692380/G7MGu9nau1715167509271/BY-ROYAL-APPOINTMENT.jpg)
By Royal appointment
The overhauled Middlebridge Scimitar continuation was championed by Princess Anne with this, her eighth and final GTE
![African Queen](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1165/1692380/4oBRh9mXN1715165991450/AFRICAN-QUEEN.jpg)
African Queen
A 1500-mile road trip has retraced this Morris Minor's history, from its first owner to its rediscovered remains, 54 years ago
![NOT SO HACKNEYED CARRIAGE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1165/1692380/eA3U-wVxf1715165598165/NOT-SO-HACKNEYED-CARRIAGE.jpg)
NOT SO HACKNEYED CARRIAGE
Never mind today’s bloated Chelsea tractors, for millionaire Nubar Gulbenkian the perfect transport for the streets of 60s London was a bespoke black cab
![Leading fromthe front](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1165/1692380/_7TWcpK8I1715165004738/LEADING-FROMTHE-FRONT.jpg)
Leading fromthe front
In the 1990s coupé boom, Toyota, Rover and Mazda scrabbled for power with race-inspired tuning, turbocharging and a sophisticated V6
![EAST COAST HOME BREW](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1165/1692380/tESCdzXoB1715164120543/EAST-COAST-HOME- BREW.jpg)
EAST COAST HOME BREW
When ambitious racer Walt Hansgen was unable to buy a new Jaguar C-type, he set out to build his own. How does it measure up?
![NATIONAL VELVET](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1165/1692380/lKpK2RLm31715163601108/NATIONAL-VELVET.jpg)
NATIONAL VELVET
As smooth asvit is rapid and superbly built,this Vanden Plas tourer reveals how Derby Bentleys set new standards of aspirational motoring
![Martin BUCKLEY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1165/1692380/e5YWBhaJE1715163401413/MARTIN-BUCKLEY.jpg)
Martin BUCKLEY
‘While the BMW drifts round every curve, the chasing Jaguar XJ6 is driven with overstated incompetence’