Lot Ended
Description
Rare Mk1a SC with opening boot and metal dash; one of only 94 made;
fresh from a four-year restoration and in super condition
throughout
Following the
launch of the all-new Javelin, in 1950 Jowett decided to use its power train in
a sports car, the only one the company ever made. For the chassis design they
approached ERA who came up with a tubular steel fabrication based on a design by
Austrian engineer Eberan von Eberhorst, formerly of Auto Union. The suspension
used torsion bars front and rear and was independent at the front. Steering was
by rack-and-pinion and brakes were Girling hydraulic all round with twin leading
shoes at the front.
The aluminium open bodywork was styled by Jowett's
own Reg Korner, with a bench seat for three people. 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 its glamourous
good looks, the Jupiter proved an instant hit with Fifties high society,
distinguished owners including speed king John Surtees, legendary race-team
manager John Willment and actor/raconteur Peter Ustinov, sales being spurred
on by the car's sucsess in competition.
This included a
record-breaking 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-hr sports car race on public
roads. Le Mans was again class-won in 1951 and 1952, but by 1953 newer faster
cars were proving a match for the Jupiter which was a well-appointed touring car
first and a racer second.
In October 1952 an improved MK1a version was launched with slightly
more power (63bhp) and a proper opening rear boot in place of the spartan
internal luggage locker found on the Mk1. The fuel tank was relocated and the
hood design was also improved.
Readily identified
by their SC chassis numbers, they also gained a stylish central all metal dash
panel, painted in body colour that replaced the Mk1's wooden version.
Of the c.900 Jupiters made in total, only 94 were MK1a
cars (57 RHD and 37 LHD) and survivors are highly prized
today.
This stunning Mk1a comes with
correspondence from the Jupiter Owners’ Club outlining what is known of the
car’s history. Built in early 1954 as a RHD model for the export market, it was
shipped to Triumph Garage of Cape Town, South Africa, in May 1954 finished in
Italian Red with Beige upholstery.
Not much is
known of the car’s early history but by the 1970s it was owned by Bill
Mutschmann, bureau chief of the CBS News team in Salisbury, Rhodesia. By the
1990s it was owned by Jowett collector Peter Swan of Krugersdorp, South Africa,
who partially restored the car before selling his entire collection to Ian Garrs
of Johannesburg when he contracted Alzheimer’s disease in 2018.
Garrs also did some work on the car before
emigrating to Germany, gifting the Jupiter to his daughter in Pretoria from whom
our vendor acquired it in 2021 along with two other Jowetts. It was imported to
the UK in December 2021 with all duties paid.
A
well-known Jowett collector and restorer, our vendor has spent the last four
years getting the Jupiter into the wonderful condition you see today. Although
there are no invoices to show the full extent of the work carried out, the car
speaks for itself and now looks very pretty indeed.
The aluminium body was stripped back to bare metal and professionally
repainted in a very fetching shade of burnt orange. The interior was completely
retrimmed and a new black Mohair hood with a fawn lining and a new Mohair
tonneau cover were supplied and fitted by Aldridge trim, the sole invoice
showing that the latter two items alone cost £2,226.
When it arrived in the UK, the car was fitted with a Subaru engine
but the vendor managed to get hold of a rebuilt Jupiter engine and gearbox which
are now installed. Driven some 40 miles to the sale, the car will need a careful
running-in period and a few hundred more ‘shake down’ miles before any long
trips are undertaken.
Prospective Jupiter owners
are blessed with a good owners’ club in the form of the Jowett Car Club which
has been going since 1923 and which boasts an excellent spares
department.
Starting promptly and running well as
we have moved it around on site, with healthy 50psi oil pressure, this rare and
sporting Jowett would sit well in any collection.
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – [email protected]