1952 Jowett Jupiter Richard Mead Roadster

Description

Designed by the talented Gerald Palmer, Jowett’s Javelin is generally regarded as the first completely new British car designed after the Second World War. Founded in 1906, Jowett was based in the northern town of Bradford and forged a reputation for building small, reliable passenger cars and commercial vehicles before switching to munitions production during the 1939-1945 conflict. Palmer’s unconventional design was a world apart from Jowett’s pre-war offerings, combining an innovative monocoque chassis, aerodynamic bodywork and torsion bar independent suspension all round. The Javelin was powered by a radical new motor, the overhead-valve flat four using an alloy engine block of 1500cc and wet cylinder liners. Early cars used a column-shift manual gearbox supplied by Henry Meadows but Jowett began making their own gearboxes, a decision that backfired when technical difficulties held up production. The Javelin’s top speed and handling were class leading and the family car was joined by a sporting variant, badged the Jupiter, launched (in chassis form at least) at the 1949 London Motor Show. The Jupiter was based around a unique tubular chassis frame designed by former Auto Union engineer Eberan von Eberhorst using the Javelin’s running gear. Initially aimed at the export market, a batch of early Jupiter chassis were supplied to outside coachbuilders including some on Continental Europe like Stabilimenti Farina and Ghia Suisse but the vast majority wore Jowett’s own aluminium-panelled Drophead bodywork. The Jupiter proved successful in motorsport, particularly at endurance events like the Le Mans 24-Hours, recording a class win at the 1950 edition of the famous event, along with a class win at the 1951 Monte Carlo Rally and outright victory in the 1951 Lisbon Rally. Approximately 900 were made before production ceased in 1954, the last 94 Mark Ia versions using a more powerful (63bhp) version of the flat four. Both the Javelin and Jupiter enjoy a loyal following today, with active clubs in both the UK and here in Australia supporting owners.