SIXTY YEARS OF THE DAIMLER 2.5 V8 SALOON

26 October 2022

Sixty years ago this month, Daimler unveiled their first car with monocoque bodywork and the belated heir to the Conquest Century, which ceased production in 1958. However, the saloon embodying "True Prestige Motoring In The Modern Manner" caused alarm and consternation in certain quarters. In 1964 William Boddy wrote Motor Sport that the 2.5 V8 saloon:

Upset the purists because it was so obviously a 2.4 Jaguar with the Daimler SP250 V8 engine. Today such people are just as upset, especially when they learn that these so-called Daimlers are built in the Jaguar factory, the power units being sent across, as it were, from 'The Daimler'.

Daimler

Today, the Daimler 2.5 V8 is rightly regarded as one of the most desirable vehicles to wear the famous badge, and so, in tribute, here are ten facts:

  1. On the 26th May 1960, BSA sold Daimler to Jaguar Cars Ltd. for £3.4 million. Browns Lane planned to use their Radford factory for XK engine production after the authorities refused planning permission to expand their own plant.
  2. Daimler's previous attempt at a Jaguar 2.4 Mk.1/Rover P4 rival was the DN250 prototype, derived from the Vauxhall Cresta PA and powered by the Edward Turner-designed 2.5-litre V8. The performance was apparently impressive, but the bodywork looked aesthetically challenged and, as the excellent Vauxpedia site notes:

Turner also entered into tentative private negotiations with Vauxhall Motors Ltd with a view to producing a new Daimler based on the Vauxhall Cresta. A chassis designation of DN250/1 was assigned to the new project and one prototype was reportedly completed but, for whatever reason, Vauxhall were not moving quick enough - probably because they could sell all the PA models they could build themselves.

  1. By November 1960, Jaguar initiated Project ZX530/112, with the V8 engine powering an Mk.1. A second prototype eventually joined it. In February 1962, Jaguar's Technical Director William Heynes gave a favourable report to senior management.
  2. The Daimler 2.5 V8 made its bow on the 8th October 1962, although just eight cars left the factory that year. The price was £1,568 19s 7d - more expensive than the 2.4 Mk. 2 at £1,475 but lower than the 3.4 at £1,589 and the 3.8 at £1,684. Unlike its Jaguar stablemate, the 2.5 had a split front bench, as previously fitted to the Mk. 1, and no centre console. The top speed of nearly 113 mph also made the 2.5 faster than the 2.4 Mk.2.
  3. Borg Warner 35 automatic transmission was standard equipment, while optional extras included reclining front seats for £16 6s 3d and power-steering for £66 9s 2d.
  4. Autocar thought the Turner V8 engine gave the Daimler "a true individuality", and the 2.5 could "well find favour in overseas markets (the USA in particular) as well as at home".
  5. Meanwhile, the chaps at The Motor found the Daimler to be "very smooth, quiet and comfortably sprung", while the interior furnishings had "an air of quality and good taste".
  6. The Daily Telegraph regarded the 2.5 as "more modern and sporting than any Daimler in the past", with the reviewer finding it "hard to criticise this car".
  7. By February 1967, the 2.5 was available with a manual gearbox with or without overdrive. Eight months later, the facelifted V8-250 boasted reclining front seats, slimline bumpers, a heated rear window and an alternator in place of a dynamo. However, unlike Jaguar 240 and 340, the Daimler retained its fog lamps and hide trim.
  8. 250 production ended in August 1969 after a total of 17, 915 units.
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