1928 Jowett 7/17 Sports Racer

1928 Jowett 7/17 Sports Racer

While they were no oddity at the time, as years passed Jowett's affinity for "flat" engines persisted.

The Jowett brothers, Ben and William, first built engines for motorcycles. In 1910 they began to build a completely Jowett-engineered light car using a proprietary L-head opposed twin engine of 816 and eventually 907cc displacement. Largely aluminum, the long stroke and low center of gravity of the Jowett engine and its 3-speed selective shift gearbox proved, among other things, ideal for hillclimbs and for rapid motoring through narrow, winding lanes.

While cataloged as a "7" the 907cc Jowett twin made some 17 brake horsepower. The Jowett brothers insisted upon rigorous testing and development before releasing their lightweight cars to the public, reportedly accumulating some 25,000 miles of it prior to shipping their first automobile, something that at the time was nearly unprecedented.

The Jowett 7 remained in production until it was succeeded in 1936 by the Eight, a 936cc opposed twin, and the Ten, an 1,166cc opposed four. Over 11,000 examples of the 7 are believed to have been built, including in 1928 a limited run of 15 Sports models with narrow aluminum bodywork that competed at legendary venues like Brooklands.

Descriptions & pictures by conceptcarz & bonhams & other