Daimler V8 250

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With its aging product line up and the painstaking production methods used in its limousine coachworks, Daimler didn’t really have a chance of survival in the brave new world of the 1960s until Jaguar came to the rescue, absorbing the marque as their range-topping luxury model until 2003.

Current owners Tata have hinted to the press that the name may yet return as a competitor to Rolls-Royce and the now defunct Maybach, although the latter’s disastrous sales performance may yet put them off!

Unveiled in late 1962, the Daimler 2.5 V8 was probably more opportunistic than strategic. Rather than sitting at the top of the Jaguar range, it found itself sitting towards the bottom of the pecking order. Almost identical to the Mk2 in other respects, its 142bhp engine was more powerful than Jaguar’s 2.4-litre six-cylinder twin cam, but considerably less potent than the 3.4-litre, although its 50kg weight saving and wonderful refinement made up for some of the difference.

In the end it all came down to fixtures and fittings and in true Daimler tradition the 2.5 did not disappoint. Split leather bench seats, lashings of walnut, plus a traditional ‘fluted’ grille and rear number plate light helped differentiate it from its Jaguar sibling.

It was also quite different to drive, the sweet Edward Turner designed ‘Hemi’ V8 thriving on revs. By 1965 the final drive had risen to make high speed cruising more relaxed and in 1967 it was renamed the V8 250 with slimmer bumpers, a revised dashboard and reclining front seats. Autocar timed it at 112mph flat out with the 0-60mph dash taking 13.6 seconds. Fuel consumption was a respectable 19mpg overall and it cost £1,647 including purchase tax, some £100 more than the Jaguar 2.4.

This 1969 model wasn’t registered until the November of that year, making it one of the last of the model to be sold in the UK. It comes with a large history file that includes numerous bills and 11 old MOTs. The engine was rebuilt in 1989 and the gearbox overhauled in 2007 and it has recently had two new tyres and a Coopercraft upgrade to the brakes. Fitted with wire wheels, power steering and a Kenlowe fan, its current MOT expires in August 2016.