The Last of the Aristocrats - The Daimler DS420
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- Hello all! :D
It's a car you've likely seen standing in for a Rolls-Royce in countless movies and TV shows, or even at weddings and funerals. The Daimler DS420 was truly the last of the age-old regal carriages to be produced, keeping alive the bespoke body-on-chassis method of car construction as late as 1992, but ultimately became the final relic of a bygone era.
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References:
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Thank you for this video.
My Uncle, Graham Stevens, was one of the team that built the last DS420 in the "Limo shop" at Browns Lane. Shortly before completion, all of those who worked on it signed the support panel that is underneath the rear seat.
Unfortunately, he passed away on 11th January, aged 79. His funeral will be on Wednesday 2nd February. This car will be attending his funeral, courtesy of JDHT.
I'm American and saw one of these here back in the 70s and I found it to be a very well made car that seemed more practical , functional and even better looking than the higher end rivals you mentioned. Our Imperials , Cadillacs and Lincoln Continentals were all configured with either folding jump seats or rear facing theater style seats depending on the customer's preference. I can't fathom why the limousine market is drying up in favor of vans and SUVs with spartan interiors and a truck ride, it's really beyond me although the millennial's taste in everything puzzles me.
Today the market segment has been taken over by SUVs. Keeping in mind that English luxury is totally different from the US one, where it is loved, school bus lengths instead of the leather comforts and inlays of English high-class cars .... If I had to make an heir to the 420, I would take the underbody and mechanics of a RANGE ROVER I would lengthen, I would mount a DAIMLER style body with the same interior ..
I agree. Where is the elegance ? Enough said. Cheers from me, John (Australia)
Sfendonte I went to Goodwood for the Festival Of Speed and The Revival until the outbreak of Covid. The new Rolls Royce plant is on the edge of the estate and Rolls provide courtesy cars for the VVIPs. The modern Rollers look like whore's handbags and any semblance of taste has gone.
A neighbour (private chauffeur) had one of these in the 1970s, he sometimes gave my sister a lift home from the local ice-rink. Impressed the other teens.
The embasy of England in Santiago, Chile had 3 of these DS420. One day walking close to my house, in 1990 around, I saw them for auction. I asked minimun price, they told me USD14,000 initial price. When Sheena Easton was here in Chile she was passed on a Daimler of the British embasy during her travel to the Viña del Mar song festival in sumer of 1984.
Thank you very much.
Sheena Easton
We briefly had one at the MG Rover dealership I used to work at, and I managed to borrow it one weekend on the pretext that a family member was interested in buying it. It was absolutely horrible to drive, but wonderful to be a passenger in. The 'family member' chose not to proceed with the purchase, and I think it ended up going to auction. The funniest thing was that the limousine was part exchanged against a used Ford Scorpio Estate. Funny old world.
The 420 was designed for passengers not for the driver .... who is a worker .....
Nice video. I worked in the building (gloriifed big shed) at Browns Lane where Daimler limo assembly moved into from VDP. We were working on a Jag vehicle electrics test system (much needed but not heeded by Jag!) in that same building. Late 79. The limo was an amazing but archaic vehicle. And yes, best known as a hearse or mayors' car. The old Daimler factory - Radford - was the Jag engine factory by then. Only 2 or 3 miles from Browns Lane.
Invercargill in Southland N.Z. Tim Shadbolt the long time Mayor used one to tow a concrete mixer to a job site !
I worked for a short time at Browns Lane in the late 70s. It reminded me of the Science Museum, a wonderful living (just) exhibit of industry and attitudes from a bygone era. The workers revolt that ended British Leyland was like a wake up call from a surreal dream.
Thanks for your story. I envy you. Cheers, john (Australia)
Really appreciating your coverage of the history on so many British Leyland era vehicles.
Not just temporarily enthused by this video, it was my favourite car as a child. It remains one of them, to-day.
It has, now, a resolute dignity; an appearance of a sad, but absolutely detemined air to carry on for as long as possible, in a world now so wholly cheapened as to be irredeemable.
I didn't grow up seeing these cars as you did but rather first encountered them while living in England in the early 1990s. I was fascinated by their size, presence and dignity. You beautifully express the elegiac quality they now evoke.
@@20noviembre298 Hello.
How unexpected.
Thanks very much.
@@20noviembre298 Sorry; when I wrote "irredeemable", I meant in matters of taste; Christ being the exception.
Again, thank you.
I drove the old Daimlers as an undertaker. We had to sell them in the end as parts became difficult to get. The firm replaces our 3 old Daimlers (one hearse) with new V12 stretch jaguars.
I saw a Daimler Dart police car in Surrey many years ago.
Absolutely Beautiful Automobile.
These were and still are a beautiful car and underrated.
Thanks for that mate, brought back alot of memories for me, my Dad was an Australian government driver & used to bring one of those home on a regular basis, mind you our garage was extended by the government to fit it in, Rj in Oz
These rotted for fun and generally needed inner and outer sills and other extensive amounts of welding by the time they were 5 years old.
My cousin used to do body repairs for the co-op fleet in Glasgow, and these were the absolute bane of his life.
Context is key though. If they were stored outside when not in use, then that was atypical for the era.
(as galvanized chassis' weren't a thing at said point)
@@jimtaylor294 they were stored indoors with the co-op, as with most chauffeur / funeral companies. They were also notorious for water leaks.
They were simply poorly made, but as you’ve said most British Leyland cars of the era were equally as poor.
@@GG-im1cb Not just BL; french, german* and italian ines too. Even the Japanese - whom were doing better than most on equipment levels & reliability - had ghastly rust issues, and the brakes weren't all that good either.
(on the latter Jag' had been the pack leader since 1959)
VW had quite the bad rep for rubbish carb's, electrical short circuits and other faults, even after they bought Audi and thus got the Golf & Polo.
Most issues with 1970's cars can be fixed with resto-upgrade today.
(such as electric fans to replace the ineffective engine driven ones)
Taking into account 2021 prices, the Rolls Royce and Daimler seemed remarkably cheap. A bone stock vw caddy van is around 23k. Another informative and enjoyable video.
That's coz the prices quoted are wrong.
I guess you don't realize that there is ALWAYS a hyphen between the two names of Rolls-Royce",!! FYI.....Friends here owned a castle on the North Sea in Scotland and had a Daimler Limousine for their use when in residence there! They normally visited for a few weeks once a year but kept a chauffeur on staff year round!!. As one contributor here said, it's not about speed off the line, nor is it about gas mileage!!!!
@Danger Otter: I know that two of the DE36 Docker Daimlers were in the USA about 10 years ago, owned by the same (elderly) owner. He had them restored.
Gottlieb Daimler licensed the UK Daimler firm his engine design for use in boats, and allowed them the use of the Daimler name. They quickly pivoted to automobiles, with some early cars having a Gottlieb Daimler engine.
The mobile office car shown in the video was a one-of-one show vehicle, later used by Sir William Lyons. The photograph of the drinks cabinet in the rear compartment lacks the jump seats on either side, so it must have been a custom order. There was also a rear video cabinet option, which included a television behind a tambour door. The vast majority of cars did not have these cabinets, and instead had two jump (occasional) seats that would allow 6 people to be seated in the rear compartment.
Daimler Hire was a chauffeured limousine service offered by Daimler starting (IIRC) in the 1910's. That division was sold to Avis in the 1970's, who continued to use Daimler DS420's, ordering new ones each year. Their standard configuration included dual zone air conditioning, bonnet flag mount, roll-up windows, rear arm rest radio, and an exterior in either black or maroon.
The photograph of the bare shell of the DS420 shown tilting upwards is emerging from a full immersion rust proofing treatment. The early cars did not have this level of rust treatment, and had significant problems with rusting of the rear floor and wheel wells. Cars after approximately 1976 were full immersion, and do not have the rust problems of the early cars.
The Daimler trademark was diluted in the USA because of Daimler-Benz's ubiquity post-war. They did import cars into the USA under the Daimler name prior to the DS420, and the DS420 was imported as a Daimler. XJ6-XJ8-XJ12 Daimlers imported into the USA were imported and sold as Jaguar Vanden Plas models. Brining the DS420 and the XJ6 series I/II together in sales literature, the DS420 was known as the "Daimler DS420 with coachwork by Vanden Plas". The rear sill plates stated "Coachwork by Vanden Plas" for most of DS420 production. Interestingly, Jaguar sold the worldwide Vanden Plas trademark to a Chinese company, but exempted the USA (as Jaguar's Vanden Plas trademark is quite valuable there). As noted in the video, the Daimler trademark isn't currently being used, but is still registered.
I was a young body draughtsman working at Motor Panels in 1972 and I remember seeing the full size draft layout was laid out on a large vertical "plate" on the end wall of the drawing office. Happy days.
I haven't driven one of these since the late 1970's but I got the impression from the interior switchgear and dashboard I was driving a LWB Jaguar XJ6 wearing a different party frock
Grandma had a Daimler Jag of some kind in the 70s/80s (maybe a "double six", but I could be mistaken). Big old green bruiser (the car, not granny), which wafted us around Lincolnshire for Sundays out.
EDIT: found my dad’s comprehensive car diary. It was a Sovereign, MTL 60M, obtained Jan 27 1975 (they traded an NSU Ro80 in for it). Part-exed for a Renault 5 Auto in 1985 - got £1,013 for it.
Which favourite grandchild managed to be named the continuing owner in her Will?
@@BrassLock haha. Good question. I think my aunt used it for a while when she visited from Australia, but I don’t know where it went next. Maybe somebody is still wafting around in it. I’ll get the reg number from our farm records and look it up.
@@robbybobbyhobbies Keep your fingers crossed they've all forgotten about it, and in reality it's under canvas next to the chook pen. With any luck you'll have it fully restored in 12 months 🤣🤩
From a Daimler Sovereign to a Renault 5 ?
@@philiptownsend4026 she was getting on - parking became a problem!
As an American I am unfamiliar with these cars, but through this video I can see the lineage that led to the styling of my next door neighbors 2006 XJ. Thanks for an informative video.
it is said. you must drive a Bugatti. Be seen in a Delage carried in a Rolls Royce. BUT YOU MUST ARRIVE IN A DAIMLER
@@Jules-zi5qf ''Looking like Lady Muck''
There are quite a few in the USA. Liberace had one, converted to part drophead. It looks great and very classy.
3:38 Just to add, the Mk10 (shown) had a 3.8 litre engine whereas the replacement updated version of the Mk10 was known as the 420G with a 4.2 litre engine.
Yes, l have one, a very wonderfully attractive car, a '67 with a 4.2 engine, factory A/C and the only one with a factory vinyl top, originally from NY.
@@gf4353 My brother owned one in the 1970s I loved going in it the interior was amazing the doors are almost 12" thick loved flicking the fuel tank switch it would go from empty to the full tank on the other side.
Although I remember the electric windows sometimes got stuck open.
2.34. I used to know someone who owned a Daimler like this. It was a 1968 registration (F - plate) and was a manual with overdrive. The interior was sumptuous. Real wood and leather. Like driving while sitting at your Gentlemans Club.
Not the case. The 3.8L MkX was built from Oct 61 through Aug 64. The 4.2L engine was introduced to the MkX in Oct 64 and was produced until Aug 66. It was still the MkX until the Aug 66 date. The 420G was introduced in Oct 66 as a 67 model year car and was an evolution of the MkX with minor interior and exterior changes. To me it was a bit more handsome yet than the MkX, especially in regards to the interior.
I delivered many of these old girls to Funeral Directors in the 80s, I worked for a specialist coachbuilder Startins of Aston. I seem to remember they used a low compression version of the 4.2 XJ6 engine so that it could perform well at slow speeds. They were beautifully made and not terrible to drive. It was fun was to drive the chassis only on a wooden box for those destined to become a funeral car.
Very early Daimlers did actually use Daimler engines from Cannstatt (Stuttgart) and Gottlieb Daimler was made a director, though he took no part in any executive decisions.
That's interesting. Is that why they were called Daimlers? I've always wondered about this.
@@cubworx7397 In January 1896, Harry Lawson registered the "English Daimler Motor Co," on the stock exchange - hoping, I assume, to exploit the cachet of the then universally known inventor of the internal combustion engine, in a way that later still, people came to call vacuum cleaners only "Hoover". At least he had asked Gottlieb for his permission. So in Britain and Germany, the "original" car was (or had to be) a Daimler.
I escorted a Chinese delegation around England in one of these in 1986. We all fitted in and it was quite comfortable. Now for some name dropping: We turned up at Blenheim Palace to meet the duke and a gentleman in a sports jacket was on the steps to greet us. I bounded out of the limo to make the introductions: “ Good afternoon your Grace”. He replied: “ I m not the duke, just the estate manager!” I took another look and realized that his jacket was a bit threadbare, not at all fitting for an aristocrat. One of my many faux pas in my career.
Don´t blame yourself too harshly! Lots of Dukes & lesser aristocrats in the UK still sport some rather threadbare suits and jackets!
These were used often for funerals but wow they were fantastic machines.
It turned out to be the ideal high end taxi.
Peace
Charlie 🇬🇧
My old man had a Majestic acquired from his pal, an undertaker. Oddly, it wasn't a funeral car, but an ordinary saloon. Boy, could it go, given the chance! The rust got it in the end, a fate of most of them.
Well, I learned something today. Until now, I had no idea that there was a British car company called Daimler. Like the narrator said, I, like probably so many others, just assumed that anything with the name Daimler attached to it was related in some way to the wider Mercedes family.
Even before watching this video though, I had an idea that something was going to diverge from my normal understanding. I looked at the thumbnail and thought to myself - "gosh, that looks an awful lot like an old Jaguar." Now I know why.
Beautiful car!
Never knew Daimler made a MK II, with a 2.5 Litres V8 !
The SP250 is also very unique !
Thanks for another great History Lesson !
Still great to be picked up in one and taken to dinner. We did that for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary.
We also hired one to take my mother to and from her 80th birthday bash. "The Duchess" in a "duchess"!
If I recall, Matchbox had one of these as an NHS ambulance.
It still looks more imposing than any S-Class. And it‘s really not about a 0-60time
As the owner of several different S-Class Mercs I would 100% agree with you... And the more modern S-Class are so disappointing I literally gave my last one away to a friend of a friend.
Vandals had slashed the tires and the rear lights and I could not be bothered to spend the money to get it fixed.
@@piccalillipit9211 vandals MUST die
@Vance Wankel I have a 1989 SEL, used for the first few years to chauffeur the High Commisioner to Tonga based in London - it has a flag staff. You are all welcome to drive it when you're in Scotland
I disagree, it looks like a joke tbh. Very ugly thing, id say a mini looks more imposing than it.
More imposing than any S Class? Most, probably, but not the Pullman limo...
Your videos about cars are phenomenal. No nonsense, thorough dive into the history, lovely voice. Thanks Keep them coming!
I regularly drive a 1969 Daimler DS420, beautiful motors, very elegant and lovely to drive.
Have a few videos of it on my channel. 👍😎
Drove one for a dealership in San Francisco in the eighties. It was frightening in that it was huge car that I had to drive in the financial district without a single scratch
Probably the only bespoke classic luxury car left that is relatively affordable. In the mid nineties these these were about the same cost as the old mark 2 Granada Dorchester. Lovely old car, that is still a cut above the rest.
The Daimler Motor Company Limited, was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H. J. Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The company bought the right to the use of the Daimler name simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft of Cannstatt, Germany. (Wikipedia)
Had a Daimler as the hotel car when I worked at the Windsor Court in NOLA. I was given the responsibility to get it running again post Katrina. Could not find anyone to work on it. If you read the handbook, there is a small section that suggests a course of action in the case of a "nuclear incident" (contact the local embassy).
This channel is awesome, and this presenter is so great at speaking. Loves the pictures included with the video too. No suggestions or complaints. Keep up what you're doing, good sir!! : ) Have an excellent weekend!
Stumbled across one of these a few years ago, and couldn't pass on buying it, a LHD version with dual air con as well.
I drove one of these vehicles in London in 1980/81. Among the smaller cars it was like commanding a battleship through the fleet. Cramped driving position for me (186cm tall, 100kg) but otherwise a delight to drive. Because of its length and power it felt like a powerboat when accelerated firmly with the front rising as the vessel, sorry, car, sped up. Roumor had it that a cerain star of Dynasty had a nookie in one of these cars while being driven through Hyde Park. There is certainly enough room for a small orgy.
I think this was the oldest British car brand what a shame Daimler is no longer around. Loved the 250 V8.
Very well composed. Loved the art deco design features of those times. Now? Forget it!!
Sort of like the ageless American Checker taxicab, but with pearls.
@@dixonpinfold2582 Or: a Jaaaaaaag ;-)
Another well researched and very informative piece of work
Honestly, I think they should have kept the 420G going as a Daimler and given it and the DS the V12 when it came available… at least an an option for the DS. And maybe done a coupé and convertible version of the G. It would have allowed Daimler to gain some distinction from Jaguar and the V12 would have added more desirability.
I really like the DS and am amazed at how long a life it lived. It has some awkward angles to it, but I think it’s lovely overall. I like its unassuming nature. And if that was good enough for several Royal families, who cares that others considered it less than a Rolls or Bentley?
I drove one as a chauffeur in the West End. Dreadful driving position but an otherwise great machine.
Really like this channel,
concise and to the point
Do not miss
Fascinating material. Charming vehicle 😄
Those Docker Daimlers are amazing, do they all still exist? That is worth a bit of a documentary of their own!
One of them was a common sight in Christchurch, Dorset in the 1960's. It was black with gold patternation covering the doors.
Yes, they are amazing. You'll find a very-interesting article on them, including great photographs of a gorgeous restored specimen, in the May 2020 issue of the British magazine Classic and Sports Car.
Such a shame tht this brand of luxury cars is almost forgotten.
Wonderful old cars......so sad that many fell into disrepair.....or were simply poorly maintained and left to rot away
Not quite as down-market as implied - the Queen Mother personally owned four in sequence.
quite right.
Painted in the unique Maroon body colour of the Royal Household
Rode in the back of one once. They just struck me as well - elegant from a distance - but when you got up close 'cobbled'. Can't put it any better way.
I rode in the back of one and sat right in the middle (above the transmission tunnel ) it wasn’t comfortable) but I still loved the big old barges and any old Daimler’s
Under rated and under appreciated. Thinking about getting one to resto mod
Daimler's fortunes as limousine builders never really recovered from the present Queen's choice of Rolls Royce. Prior to that all Royal cars had been Daimlers, not least because the patented fluid transmission made them easy to drive smoothly at walking pace in processions.
Concise analysis of niche vehicles and marques such as this are always a joy. Excellent content as always Ruairidh.
Loooooooove this car and the Bentley the Queen uses
Excellent video thanks. Friend of mine had one to carry his four children around ... but in the end it cost a lot to keep going as a daily driver...
Love those Wood Leather interiors.
All veneer and leather trimming fine in the Browns Lane trim shop and veneer centre
Fascinating and all my questions answered . Get me to the altar or for that matter the grave on time ! Though it must be said such was the fate of many a white Silver Shadow on a Saturday conveying the blushing bride to the altar . Jaguar might consider reviving the the Daimler brand as Mercedes did with the Maybach .
Enjoyed this. Don't think it would be £31,800 today though ! £200,000 missing from Phantom too. (A guess). Is Vanden Plas not Plah. Dutch, not French. Still a thumbs up.
I remember the Co op funeral service hearses - looked better than their rivals.
I still wouldn't want to be seen dead in one 🤭
@@lookandlisten5740 Very amusing.
And then some cheeky rotter trys to top it, by urging you not to miss the opportunity to reserve one in advance, (should the need ever arise), because a solid casket could always be used, too; there'd be no need just to lie on display in the boot.
What an informative and well paced presentations, thanks!
Brilliant Auto History video, thanks for uploading. I am a classic Jaguar & Daimler enthusiast. I love the Daimler Double Six, Super V8, and Century models. Those were the days when Jaguar/Daimler was well respected, until Tata took over.
Thanks to Tata the Daimler brand was dropped, and all Jags followed German design. Jaguar should of stayed with their heritage like Rolls Royce and Bentley.
When the XJ moved to X351, Daimler should have been kept on the X350 chassis, retaining the traditional shape
That’s a really cool idea
Way too many of these have ended their days banger racing.
Yup and they still bangering other classics and their arguments to do this are all the same . Because we can
@@alantraish3368 Saw videos of it. So So sad....
What a waste that the 2.5 V8 was never carried forward into BL. Would have been great for the Triumph Stag
@@berniecork7416 Too many assholes and internal politics.
@@berniecork7416 Yep ..but then any other engine in the Triumph Stag would have been great
Keep up the good work! Another great video thanks
Sophisticated car..
I insisted on a Daimler 7 seater for my wedding. Because the only other ride you get in a Daimler is when it's a hearse and everyone gets taken to their wedding in a Royce.
Loved it,not enough people actually appreciate their surroundings have it spot on 👍
I must have missed this jewel, a lovely addentum to today's upload from you, keep it scouse Sir ☘️
Another classic. Great video.
Made me smile. So many pictures over the years of heads of state driving a clearly-not-Rolls/Bentley, and all the same car. It has a name, even, the DS420. The Queen gets fashionably chauffeured around in one.
By the way, would you be so kind as to pronounce your first name please? I'm sort of betting on Roor-Iccch.
“What’s the best way to get to Buckingham Palace?” = “In a Daimler saloon”.
Marry a royal!
These DS420s are now available relatively cheaply-usually you can find at least one for less than £10,000. Tread carefully, though!
I would say tread very very carefully,I worked on one once doing some welding,it was rotten,the sills were full of filler.
We had one on our wedding car fleet. Even 20 years ago, every time you poked around you found more rust. They were made with loads of inaccessible box sections, designed long before rust-proofing was a priority. The other problem the drivers came up against time after time was the automatic choke mechanism which made it a nightmare to restart if it was switched off when it was partially warmed up.
@@rickconstant6106 The car i worked on was bought as a wedding car,I was doing some MOT repairs on the inner sill's,but the guy who bought it was told by a good mechanic not to buy it and the guy selling it told him they always need work doing,but he still bought it.
A wonderful car, not a great comfortable driver position but what an amazing car to drive. I have driven them countless times at weddings and funerals.
I always enjoy your videos, but this time it struck a chord with me... Thanks for your work 👍
My car is a 2006 Jaguar S Type. I love it, be cause I feel as driveing a Dainler or Rolls.
An excellent video, thank you. The s in Vanden Plas is not silent. M.
Gorgeous car. Of course Howard Hughes would have the most eccentric specification.
Very informative but the browns lane factory was in Coventry not in Birmingham and was the hq of Jaguar for many years
It's rather sad that it hasn't been used much by the Belgian Royal house, with it mainly and probably most famously used to carry Queen Elisabeth II during King Baudouin of belgium's funeral.
Good video overall. But at 3:44 you state the 420G was otherwise known as the MkX. This is simply incorrect. The 420G was an evolution (ok small iteration) of the MkX and was always a separately named car. Granted not many casual observers of the marque would be able to tell the difference but the 420G was and for the surviving cars, remains a distinct Jaguar product. And even if many people errantly call the 420G a MkX, repeated errors do not change the facts. Yes I once owned a 420G so the different nomenclature is quite important to me and I suspect this is the case with most current and former 420G owners.
Thoroughly enjoyable documentary.
Vanden 'Plas' correct pronunciation is 'Plass' and NOT 'Plah'!
I cannot recall a Rolls Phantom 6 at much below £6000. Around £2000 seems about right for a DS420 around 1969.
The Borg Warner type 8 was replaced by the type 12 with possibly a GM unit near the end of production. I can't be sure off the top of my head.
Great video!
More obscure 1940’s aircraft next please!
As an employee of Jaguar North America, I was involved with one of the two full US spec cars built to test the market in the US for these limos. IIRC, only two were built, LHD and with emission engines taken from the then current (1986?) XJ6 series III, but with GM Turbo 400 gearboxes, which complied with US emission and safety standards. The one I was familiar with was dark blue had a duel control AC system and a rear compartment TV. After a year Jaguar USA gave up on the plan to market them in the USA and the two cars were sold off.
In terms of the quality of the cars I do have to note that on the red car in the first picture, the front right door appears to either be wonky or not shut properly.
Yeah probably both.
Fitting of any panel, whether factory or replacement, probably need lead, steel, filler and a craftsman with 100 years' experience to get them to 'fit'.
It’s probably the reflection from the kerb which gives the illusion its wonky.
6:30 I wonder if the toilet had a tank of some kind, or if it was just designed to leave its droppings on the road as the car was being driven, the way trains sometimes do. Enquiring minds must know these things.
I disagree with this video, although some of what was stated is correct, these vehicles are marvellous they are comfortable, and drive like a modern car. They should truly be celebrated, they were a far superior car to the Rolls Royce Phantom VI, and the main reason people didn't and don't often have them as a private car is because they are 20ft long, which don't fit in most garages. Unfortunately many have been and are being banger raced, and this needs to stop, to preserve these brilliant machines for the future.
The DS420 was never a £30K plus car in today's money. The E-Type in 1961 at around £2K was around £40K in today's money
Daimler might just be my favorite manufacturer. In fact, my dream car is an early double-six. I love rovers (and land rovers) aswell.
Вероятно, лучший из "Дэймлеров". Очень выразительный, "классический" дизайн.
I'm from Gottlieb Daimlers birth town in Germany and was expecting a Mercedes Product i never heard of
Yup. The Daimler name was given out a bit too much in the early days. As such when Mercedes Benz wanted it back, Jaguar just said no XD.
Great video thank you
I worked for the New Zealand High Commissioner in London from the late seventies and one of these was the official car. It was replaced in 1979 because of rust and engine problems. Briefly the official car was an Austin Maxi, which the High Commissioner went to Lord Mountbatten's funeral in. Very embarrassing. It was replaced with a Mercedes 450 and now they have a BMW.
As the Royal Family used Daimler’s up and until the early 60’s, it would be a good idea for JLR to build a one off special Daimler for the Queen to replace the current Bentley, which were never Royal cars.
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother had one of them until she died in 2002. They were also used as suite cars until the late nineties when they were replaced with stretched Jaguars.
Of course the English Daimler had a relationship to Gottlieb Daimler. He was even part of the foundation company in 1893.
Exactly. The British Daimler company had purchased the rights to produce early engines (and use the Daimler name) from Gottlieb Daimler decades before the Mercedes-Benz brand existed.
Awesome car...I always wondered how they disappeared..
Sadly Jaguar left it too late to update the DS420..
They produced 4 updated prototypes with an injected 4 litre and full electric seats from the XJ40... never went into production..
Excellent video: informative and well designed