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‘The older generation usually knows of the model but due to its rarity not many have seen one. I’ve been asked if it’s a Jaguar or a kit car’. The Jowett Jupiter, owned by Anthony Jackson, is a very exclusive vehicle and one of the most ambitious products of the post-war British motor industry.

The origins of the Jupiter are complex but essentially date back to 1946, the Javelin saloon’s launch date. Three years later, Jowett commenced work on a sports car that would, hopefully, earn the Bradford concern much-needed dollars from the US export market. It would combine a more powerful version of the familiar  1486 cc  “flat-four” engine with the tubular chassis, devised by the ex-Auto Union engineer Professor Eberan von Eberhorst.

Jowett displayed a complete car at the 1950 New York Motor Show while the Jupiter’s UK price was a reasonably steep £1,086 17s 3d. However, the specification included full instrumentation and a well-furnished cabin. The coachwork featured winding windows, and exterior door handles – luxuries beyond MG TC drivers’ dreams – and a detachable windscreen.

Jowett badged the first examples as the “‘Javelin Jupiter”, but from February 1951 onwards, they dispensed with the prefix. The Motor stated the Jupiter was the fastest 1 1/2-litre car they had yet tested, and Motor Sport predicted ‘a very successful future for the Jupiter, at home and in overseas markets.’ 1951 also saw class victories at the Monte Carlo and Le Mans rallies; Jowett’s brochures boasted of ‘the car that leapt to fame’.

Unfortunately, this was the year of Tom McCahill’s infamous report in Mechanix Illustrated. He stated the Jowett ‘dives into corners like a porpoise with heartburn and the steering is like winding up an eight-day clock with a broken mainspring’. Such observations did not assist the Jupiter’s US sales prospects, for the article gave the impression of a prematurely launched model.

A further blow occurred when HM Government doubled Purchase Tax, and worst of all, by 1952, Ford was on the verge of taking a controlling interest in Briggs Motor Bodies. The result was significant supply problems for the coachwork of Jowett’s mainstream models, the Jowett and the Bradford. Car production ceased in 1954, and when the company sold their London Albemarle Street showroom, the last of the 850 Jupiters were sold at reduced prices.

Twenty-eight years later, Anthony discovered 189 AME in a Cheshire farm – ‘the car was in a sad state, covered in dust and guano’. The Jowett became a rolling restoration as Mr. Jackson ‘repaired the brakes and got the car running. Having a young family restricted my budget, and it wasn’t until 1995 that I stripped the body for repair’. This process involved fabrication and aluminium welding by a specialist, followed by ‘full respray, new glass and re-chroming’.

By 2003 the engine was rebuilt, and she underwent a complete rewire in 2007. Anthony recently fitted the Jupiter with a new hood, and he finds it ‘nice and relaxing’ to drive.  ‘You can’t rush the column gear change, and it is excellent on corners due to the torsion bar suspension and tubular steel chassis’.

AME has won several awards, and today she is a prime example of Jowett’s determination and vision. And in its heyday, the Jupiter was indeed ‘the car to take you places – fast!’.

With Thanks To: Anthony Jackson

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