Jowett Jupiter DHC

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The Jowett car company were not one of the biggest names in the British automotive firmament and their cars were decidedly ‘quirky’ but they did have some admirers – especially the sporty Jupiter two-seaters.

John Surtees owned one, as did Peter Ustinov, and so did John Willment, legendary race-team manager. In ‘The Long Goodbye’ by Raymond Chandler, hard-boiled gumshoe Phillip Marlowe says of the Jupiter: “I’m not too fussy about cars, but the damn thing did make my mouth water a little.”

Power came from a tuned version of the 1,486cc flat-four overhead valve unit in the Javelin and had twin carbs and a higher compression ratio to develop 60bhp – good for a top speed of 85mph and a 0-50 time of 11.7 seconds. It drove through a four-speed column change gearbox with synchro on the top three gears.

With a chassis designed by ERA, the Jupiter was an instant success with a class win at Le Mans in 1950, a class 1-2 in the 1951 Monte Carlo International Rally, an outright win on the 1951 Lisbon International Rally, and a class 1-2 at Dundrod in a gruelling 4-hour race on public roads in 1951. Just 899 Jupiters were built in all, including special bodied cars, of which just 561 were right hand-drive. Around half of all cars produced are thought to survive today and all are highly sought after.

Between 1972 and 2010, this Jowett was allegedly owned by one person, an Albert Cleavely, who had maintained it for many years, which included fitting a lot of fibreglass to the body. After buying it in 2010 from Jowett specialist Peter Rodgers, our vendor quickly decided to put the car to rights, most importantly fitting all aluminium panels back on to the car. It was despatched to Maidstone Sports Cars who began a thorough refurbishment of the car which soon raced past the original estimate. Work included new wings, new hood, new windscreen and a complete respray. Both seats were re-covered, new carpets were fitted, and the woodwork was re-veneered.

The car then made its way to Barrie Price, of Lea Francis Cars, for final assembly and de-snagging. However, due to pressure of work the car was not finished and the vendor has decided to put it on the market, having spent over £30,000 on the project to date.

There are one or two items missing (the vendor hopes to find the air vents in time for the sale) but the great majority of the work has been done. It should not take much to finish this fine drophead Jowett and, given the amount of work already carried out and the values of Jupiters these days, the new owner will have a real bargain if it goes within estimate. Not to mention a fine motorcar.