Lot 030: Jowett Javelin

The Jowett brothers began making cars at their Bradford factory as early as 1906 and quickly earned a reputation for making tough, well engineered cars with outstanding economy and excellent pulling power  ideal for charging around the Yorkshire Dales!But the car that really put them on the map was the Javelin, a compact family saloon that was so far ahead of its UK-produced rivals that it had more in common with the best that Europe had to offer. To quote Georgano: "With its independent torsion-bar suspension front and rear, rigid unitary body-chassis construction, good aerodynamic shape, light weight and high gearing, its fine handling, 80mph maximum speed and combination of excellent acceleration and high cruising speed, it was more reminiscent of the pre-war Lancia Aprilia, the Fiat 1100 or the BMW."Designed by Gerald Palmer and launched in 1947, it was powered by a superb 1.5-litre flat-four engine that wouldn't feel out of place in a car 40 years' its junior. Fast and economical, it achieved considerable competition success, coming first in class at the 1949 Monte Carlo Rally, winning the 2-litre touring car class at the Spa 24-hour race that same year, and winning the 1953 International Tulip Rally outright. Production ended in 1953 when over 25,000 had been sold  had it been made by a bigger company like Ford, it would have been an enormous success. First registered in May 1949, this lovely example has had just three owners from new, one of whom owned it from 1962 until 2005. Apart from an older respray it is said to be wholly original and unrestored and has clearly been much loved. An old MOT shows that the car had covered 75,792 miles in 1970 and it now has just 77,230 on the clock which is believed genuine  the condition of the well preserved interior would certainly appear to bear this out. Firing up readily on the occasion of our visit and performing remarkably well on our brief test drive, it has an MOT until May 2008 and would appear to have many decades of useful life ahead of it. Rightly regarded as a milestone in car design, this is a must for any collection.