Javillac
After World War II, Britain found good business in United States to whom they sold exotic sports convertibles which were extremely popular on the other side of the Atlantic. This gave rise to a long tradition of some of the most desirable cars to come out of the country.
Daimler was one of the oldest and most respected brands in the UK, which had nothing to do with Daimler-Benz. By the 1950s they were Known primarily for their luxurious limousines and commercial vehicles, and although they had experimented with sportier cars in small series in the past, in 1959 they decided to fully enter this sector.
Until then, the vast majority of the British roadsters They were fitted with four or six-cylinder in-line engines. Daimler's big bet was to develop a V8 with the help of Edward Turner, one of the designers of Triumph motorcycles, resulting in a 2.548 cc hemispherical chamber block with 140 hp which was ready by 1958.
AN AMERICAN STYLE ENGLISH SPORTS CAR
The idea was dazzle the American clienteleAnd if a V8 engine wasn't enough, the car's aesthetics also had to match the country's tastes. Far removed from the demure style of British convertibles, the Daimler Dart had two large rear fins, as was the fashion of the time, the front also had a large chrome grille with a “V” shaped ornament that gave an idea of what was under the hood.
Weighing just 940 kilograms thanks to its fiberglass body and a 2+2 configuration, although rear seating was minimal, Daimler hoped its new product would become a best-seller, expecting £700.000 profit in the first year on the market despite having a fairly low production.
The first bad news came on the day of the car's presentation at the 1959 New York Auto Show, where the new Daimler Dart was unveiled to the public. The Chrysler executives who were there were not too happy about this baptism, since they had previously registered name Dart for a Dodge model which would go on sale at the end of that same year.
The Daimler Dart was then forced to change its nomenclature to SP250, the name by which the project was known internally, although in Great Britain it continued to be sold as the Dart. Unfortunately the car earned the unofficial title of ugliest car at the New York Motor Show, but its surprising performance made it sell fairly well and it became a very common car on the circuits.
1960: JAGUAR AND DAIMLER JOINED
Until then BSA was the owner of Daimler, but In 1960 Jaguar decided to buy the company for a price of 3,25 million pounds. of the time. One of the main reasons is that Jaguar had grown a lot during the 1950s and needed an additional factory to keep up with the pace of production.
Jaguar Cars thus became the Jaguar Group, a very promising group that brought the extra prestige of Daimler, a brand that had traditionally been one of the favourites of the British monarchy. But apart from the expansion plans that benefited both brands, The little SP250 was one of the greatest treasures that Jaguar got out of this deal.
The Daimler SP250 was one of the fastest cars in the country, capable of exceeding 200 kilometers per hour, and in fact a few units ended up in the London City Police in order to catch motorcyclists in high-speed chases.
Jaguar saw the potential of this engine and used it in a Daimler version of the Mk 2. called the 2.5 V8 and later known as the V8 250, which sold 17.600 units between 1962 and 1969, becoming the brand's most popular model. On the other hand, the Daimler SP250 ceased to be sold in 1963, and was the company's last model developed before the Jaguar era, and although only 2.654 units were made, it was a key car in ensuring its future as a manufacturer.
Images: Daimler and Jaguar
