WE all had our dream cars when we were young. One of mine was a very individual choice in sports cars – the Jowett Jupiter. A pearl of brilliance from the Bradford-based manufacturer, the Jupiter embodied continental expertise and British know how. Jowett Cars Ltd had been well known for light cars and commercial vehicles since 1906, but in the 1950s, the company was taken off-guard by the success of its very modern flat-four-powered Javelin saloon. The partner model, Jupiter featured a similar engine, and was treated to the most meticulous degree of hand building. Jupiter sports cars were built from 1950 to 1954 and the Jowett-designed 1,486cc flat-four pushrod engine of 60-62bhp gave them considerable punch. Most Jupiters were the aluminium-bodied models made in the factory, but a further 75 fully equipped rolling chassis were sold to specialist coachbuilders like Farina. Jupiter got off to a flying start with a Le Mans 24-hour race class win in 1950 and this amazing car still cuts it in competitions today, with survivors regularly upstaging the opposition at classic events The Jowett Jupiter rolling chassis first appeared at the London Motor Show in October, 1949, having been designed in four months by the Austrian engineer Dr. Robert Eberan-Eberhorst. Bodywork was designed in-house by Jowett stylist Reg Korner. The engine is an excellent example of British genius. It was Gerry Palmer's first and last engine design. Horizontally opposed engines were rare but Palmer’s design proved it could be done successfully. Porsche and the modern Subaru continue the tradition. The single bench seat accommodated two, or three at a pinch. It was upholstered in leather and winding windows were a rare item of luxury on sports cars of that time. The hood neatly folded out of sight behind the seat. At that time North America was seen as a key market for British sports cars, but the poor Jupiter got a severe panning from one journalist in 1951 who said: "The outstanding feature of this bug is that it corners and steers worse than any Detroit family bus I have driven since the advent of those dangerous blubber tires. This reluctant torpedo dives into corners like a porpoise with heartburn and the steering is like winding up an eight-day clock with a broken mainspring." He must have been having a bad day because another American motoring pundit described the Jupiter's cornering as ‘modern’ rather than ‘traditional’. I once briefly got behind the wheel of a Jupiter and it did need a degree of skill. But nevertheless it was an exhilarating drive. So did it live up to my boyhood expectations? The answer has to be a very definite yes. I suppose it is all about how you perceive a car. In the 1950s everyone was raving about Jaguar XKs which were very good of course, but the Jupiter had attitude. It possessed a Yorkshire, sleeves rolled-up approach to performance driving mixed in with a touch of mechanical genius and topped with a sprinkling of the best continental input. A heady cocktail indeed. | 
