Scores of vintage car enthusiasts throughout the country are gearing up to bring their vehicles "home" to Bradford for one of the biggest ever Jowett rallies.

Up to 200 of the vehicles, including some of the famous Jowett Javelins, will be on show in Saltaire during the National Jowett Rally which is being staged in May to mark the Jowett Car Club's 75th anniversary.

Among those on show at Robert's Park on Sunday, May 24, will be three of the four oldest surviving Jowetts, dating back to 1913 and 1916, and two of which are steered by a tiller rather than a steering wheel.

Enthusiasts from as far away as Sweden and Germany are expected to travel to Bradford - where the vehicles were manufactured - for what is expected to be the largest gathering of Jowetts for more than 50 years.

The three-day rally, which is being sponsored by Batley-based Springfield Stainless Ltd, gets underway on Friday, May 22 with a gathering of car club members and enthusiasts at Bradford's Cedar Court Hotel.

The following day will see the vehicles - some older than the club itself - take to the roads for a 60-mile scenic tour of the Bronte country and the Dales.

The tour will be followed by a sporting event at Esholt, where owners will test their driving skills and their cars' capabilities by taking on two timed runs. The winner will be presented with the Springfield Cup, made by the sponsors on their waterjet cutting machine.

Members of the public will get a chance to take a close look at the cars and chat with their owners when they go on display at Roberts Park on the Sunday.

Bradford-based Ian Priestley, who is secretary of the Jowett Car Club Rally Committee and owns a dozen of the vehicles himself, said: "It's going to be by far the biggest rally for many years. There used to be some really large gatherings back in the 1960s but the cars were in regular use then.

"We'll have everything on show, ranging from the Edwardian cars right up to ones made in 1954 when production ceased.

"It'll be the first time the three oldest surviving cars have been together for donkeys years and one of the tiller cars is in running condition and will be taking part in the scenic run.

"We're the oldest one-make car club in the world and very proud of Jowett's long association with Bradford.''

Jon Haigh, of Springfield Stainless Ltd, said: "Our managing director, John Taylor is a keen Jowett enthusiast, we're an engineering company ourselves and with the cars manufactured at Idle it's nice to have the rally in Bradford for nostalgic reasons.''

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