as one in a series of collaborations between austin and jensen motors of west bromwich, the a40 sports originated when austin's chairman leonard lord, upon seeing the jensen interceptor, requested that jensen develop a body that could use the austin a40 devon mechanicals. the center section of the chassis was boxed to provide rigidity for the open body, and the a40 sports also employed a twin-su carburetored version of the 1.2 l engine producing , rather than . during production, a40 sports bodies were built by jensen and transported to austin's longbridge plant for final assembly, with approximately 4,011 examples manufactured.