The Jowett Javlin

This Bradford based motor manufacturer goes back to the early years of the motor car and William and Benjamin Jowett remained faithful to the boxer type of engine throughout the life of the company. Their first car, a 2 seater produced in 1906 was powered by a two cylinder power unit of just 816 cc and after 1914 this increased to 907 cc.

Great changes were seen after the end of the second world war, Jowett introduced the "Javlin" to the British market in May 1947, it created quite a sensation with its unusual appearance and original design features and something of which the British Motor Industry in that austere period after the war could be justly proud..

The annual motor show of October 1948, held in the Earls Court exhibition building in London and which had been suspended during the war years, the previous show being that of October 1938, was the first opportunity for Jowett to exhibit its new models nationally. They had three offerings on their stand, a four door saloon in gold, the standard finish colour at £808. 10. 7d which included purchase tax., a turquoise coloured saloon and a roadster type coupe.

The Jowett Javlin created a very favourable impression in many foreign markets and the model gained much public recognition by winning the 1.5 litre category in the Monte Carlo rally held at the beginning of 1949, it was also the fastest touring car in the 24 hour race at Spa in the same year. The mechanical construction of the "Javlin" was unique among motor manufacturers, no other, for example, using a flat four engine nor torsion bar suspension both at the front and the rear of the car. The merit of using a horizontally opposed engine was immediately apparent when getting into the front of the car when one considers the good legroom, the same good legroom is also to be found in the rear, quite surprising when one takes into consideration that the rear seat was placed in front of the rear axle centre. Due to this rear seat being ahead of the outer diameter of the rear wheels there is no restriction in the width of the rear cushion and by folding up the centre armrest and removing the side rests there is ample room for three to be seated in the rear, the front seat being of the bench type with a central armrest can also accommodate three persons if the said armrest was folded up. There is no gear lever to obstruct the floor space, it being located on the steering column.

The flat 4 engine has a bore of 72.5 mm and a stroke of 90 mm, giving a cubic capacity of 1,486 c.c. with a compression ratio of 7.1 to 1. The unit produced 50 b.h.p. at 4,100 rpm. Fuel is delivered via a mechanical A.C. pump to two Zenith downdraught carburettors. The overall fuel consumption that could be expected was 25 to 27 to the gallon. The cars maximum speed was in the region of 77 miles per hour which was very good for a vehicle of some 24 cwt and a 1.5 litre engine. Another unusual feature was that the engine was located in front of the cooling radiator and I do remember that one consequence of this was that in heavy rain the engine would misfire due to water getting on the ignition, a problem that occurred some 10 years later when the BMC Mini was introduced..

The overall length is the Javlin was 14 ft and the overall width 5ft 1 inch., the front wheel; track was 4ft 3 inches and 2 inches narrower at the rear.

All things considered this was a very advanced car for the times ands one which can still give great pleasure to drive and is quite capable of keeping up with modern traffic.