This car has come to us from exceptionally long-term ownership by an enthusiastic rally entrant with a collection of more than 15 interesting and varied cars. This is no trailer queen, being driven as intended on numerous UK and European rallies by her owners of near thirty years, however, accordingly she’s been maintained to be very reliable, and is surprisingly suited to such pursuits being as she is very light, nimble and when required, docile, with the four-speed column shift gear lever and overdrive simple to use and control.
Mille Miglia eligible, and offered with FIVA registration, ‘HKU 56’ was the former London Motor Show Demonstrator and road test car for Jowett and as such featured heavily in motoring literature from 1951/52 after the small Bradford-based manufacturer unveiled the car at both the London and Geneva Motor Shows in 1949 and 1950. It remains one of the best known cars in the club after being featured as the test car for an Autosport Magazine road test in 1952 which greatly favoured the spritely little Jowett. It is understood that just 731 such cars were manufactured, though no absolute records are able to tell us how many are still accounted for.
The Jowett Jupiter boasts a 1486cc flat four overhead valve engine that reputedly returns close to 85mph with the wind at her back. Currently fitted with Ridgard rally seats for comfort and security on long-distance touring the original bench seat is in fine order having been carefully stored and is included in the sale. Further benefitting this car are several sympathetic upgrades producing a state of tune to make the car competitive on road rallies. These include a high compression 9:1 engine, lightened flywheel, two Weber carburetors, 4:1:1 axle, power-assisted brakes and further benefits from having been re-wired fewer than ten years ago, meaning everything is behaving as it should be.
The Jowett community is very vocal for their demure size and is well serviced by an enthusiastic International owners’ club where this car is well known. We’ve no doubt you’ll be welcomed with open arms to attend the numerous rallies and events they host annually.
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