One of the most familiar silhouettes in the classic car world – in the UK, at least – is that of the Jaguar Mk2, not least because of prolonged television exposure as the car driven by Inspector Morse while solving multiple murders in the otherwise peaceful town of Oxford. With so many murders there it’s a surprise anyone wants to study at its famous university. It was also the getaway car of choice for many a villain, so Jaguar were clearly reaching two very different demographics.
Anyway, while the leaping cat on the bonnet of the Mk2 is a signifier for almost the default sports saloon of the late 1950’s and early ‘60’s, in either 2.4 or 3.8 litre form, the Daimler 250 V8, which sits neatly between the two Jaguars, is relatively little known, yet is every bit as charismatic and desirable – in some ways, even more so – than its sibling.
Good Mk2’s and Daimler 250’s fetch strong money – £25,000 is not unusual, more for restored examples, but our Prime Find this week fits well under our imaginary budget and is the kind of classic that can be enjoyed while gradually improving it.
When Jaguar bought Daimler (no relation to Daimler-Benz) from the Birmingham Small Arms Company in 1960 for just £3.4 million, it was primarily to make use of the latter’s production facilities, with little interest in developing new Daimler models.
However, Daimler had developed a fine small V8 for its guppy—faced sports car, the SP250 Dart, and under pressure from Daimler dealers, Jaguar agreed to let Daimler use the Mk2 platform to create a refined sports saloon that other than the engine, badge and a few other relatively minor details, was effectively a re-badged Mk2 Jaguar. And yet, while to the casual observer the two were and are very similar, they were quite different in many ways, not least in terms of performance.
Priced between the 2.4 and 3.4-litre Mk2’s at launch, the 250 was a strong combination of performance and luxury. The 140bhp V8 under the Daimler’s bonnet was lighter and more flexible than the 6-cylinder XK unit in the Jaguar and while not as powerful as the 3.4 (210bhp) and 3.8-litre (220bhp) engines, was a worthwhile step up compared to the 120bhp 2.4 in the Jaguar (increased to 133bhp in 1967). Combined with its superior Borg Warner 3-speed automatic transmission and more luxurious interior appointments, the Daimler was deemed by many to be a nicer car to drive than the Jaguar 240.
In their test drive of the 250 in May 1963, Autocar was full of praise for the Daimler’s refinement, flexibility, and particularly its performance, reaching a top speed of 112mph and finding the car to be a relaxed and comfortable cruiser at 80-85mph (pre-70mph motorway speed limits, of course!).
1967 saw the introduction of a mildly facelifted version of the Daimler, reflected in a slight change of name to Daimler V8 250, and by the time the Daimler Sovereign – a Jaguar XJ6 in all but name – was introduced in 1968, the end beckoned for the 250, and manufacture ceased the following year with over 17,600 examples having been built – Daimler’s most successful model to that point.
The Mk2 was not the only internal rival for the Daimler – there was also competition from both the Rover P5 and later P6, from Germany in the shape of the Mercedes (more expensive, it has to be said) W111 and 112 series, BMW’s Neue Klasse and towards the end of the Daimler’s production run, BMW’s E3 – the latter in particular raising the game for big sporting saloons and making the British car seem dated by comparison.
Our Prime Find this week is one of the later V8 250’s, a Willow Green with matching interior example built in 1968. It’s been on and off the road for much of the last couple of decades and has covered just 1500 miles since 2012. Indeed, its warranted mileage of 62,210 is exceptionally low for a 53-year-old car.
It’s up for sale with Anglia Car Auctions over the weekend of June 26th and 27th, and carries an estimate range of just £12,000 to £14,000. There’s not a huge amount of information about the car, but from the photographs that we’ve borrowed from the auctioneer’s website, the car looks to be in decent shape both externally and internally, although as always, we recommend arranging an inspection if you are interested in bidding for the car. There is a limited history file consisting of MOT’s back to 1986, the original service and handbooks, and some receipts.
I like the look of this Daimler – the pastel colour is unusual and it offers an opportunity to buy a cool and stylish classic for reasonable money while improving it over time – like its Jaguar siblings, the 250 is well supported in terms of clubs and parts. It’s also an understated way of being a little different. 705 remain licensed for UK driving, so there are a few around, but not so many that you’ll see several at every show. You can see the full lot entry, with additional photographs, here.
