Daimler Double Six Coupe

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How do you make the most beautiful saloon in the world look even better? Simple, you convert it into a coupe.

In fact it wasn’t quite that simple and it took Jaguar two years from the unveiling of the show car in 1973 to finally get it into production. Based on a shortened floor pan from the XJ6 saloon, the coupe featured a clever pillarless glass side profile that took a huge amount of effort to perfect, wind noise being the main problem to overcome. William Lyons’ elegant design looked fabulous when all the windows were down, but posed a serious headache to the development engineers who had to effectively seal the point where the side windows met on what were very fast cars indeed.

When it was finally available in 1975, the prohibitive expense of getting the bodyshell to meet US safety regulations meant that it never went on sale in the States - hence its short production life of just four years. Both six- and twelve-cylinder models were offered (6,505 of the former and 1,873 of the latter) of which just 407 were delivered as V12 Daimlers, making them the rarest of all.

Top of the range was the wonderful Daimler Double Six which had an even more luxurious interior with extra sound-proofing which helped its occupants waft along in near silence at three-figure speeds with barely a ripple on a glass of champagne.

First registered in October 1976, this attractive and rare Regency Red Daimler Double Six is one of the 407 that left Browns Lane and has seen little use over recent years. It comes with three old MOTs, its current ticket running until December 2016, the car having covered just a few miles since tested late last year.

The odometer shows 60,441 miles, although there is insufficient documentary evidence to warrant this but the file does include an older invoice for £3,600 with CFS Motors for injectors, brake master cylinder, rear discs and drive shafts. The tan leather interior is in good shape and would no doubt respond well to a thorough clean, while on the outside the usual vinyl roof covering has been removed, the car looking especially good with its body-coloured roof and GKN alloy wheels.

Registered with the transferable number OXJ 96, it started easily and drove without drama when taking the photographs. This attractive and rare car looks extremely good value at the suggested guide price and has the potential to turn into a very nice example indeed with some general detailing work.