The Daimler V8 Sports car, the last creation of the historic Daimler Company, debuted in 1959, designed from the ground up. Soon after its introduction, Jaguar Cars acquired Daimler, primarily for its manufacturing capabilities, for £3.4m in May 1960.
Initially named the ‘Dart’, its unveiling at the New York International Automobile Exhibition in April 1959 faced a hiccup when Chrysler objected to the use of the name ‘Dart’. The car embarked on a successful coast-to-coast publicity tour in the US soon after the show.
Renamed the SP250, or affectionately known as ‘The Dart’, the car found a strong following, particularly in North America. Notable early successes included Duncan Black’s victory in the 1960 American National Championships.
Engineered by Edward Turner, renowned for his work with motorcycles, the SP250 boasted a powerful hemi-head V8 engine. Despite its impressive performance, only about 2650 units were produced between 1959 and 1964 before Jaguar ceased production, possibly due to competition from their own E-type.
The chassis, resembling the Triumph TR2, featured independent front suspension and disc brakes all around, unusual for the time. Fiberglass bodywork kept costs down, with the radiator placed sideways to accommodate the low front end.
The luxurious leather interior offered comfortable seating for four, with a spacious boot for luggage. The car came well-equipped with features like wind-up windows, a speedo, rev counter, and various accessories including a radio and fog lamps.
Options included painted wire wheels, an overdrive for the manual transmission, or a Borg-Warner automatic gearbox, catering to the American market’s preference for automatics.
Despite its limited production run, the SP250 left a lasting impression, thanks to its unique design and powerful performance, cementing its status as an international sports car icon.
This particular Daimler ‘Dart’ comes in the desirable ‘B’ specification with a registration date on its original buff logbook of 2nd January 1962, a document with which you can track the car’s ownership history up to the mid 1970’s.
It was bought by its current owner at Brightwell’s auction house in 2019. The vehicle was in running condition and came accompanied by paperwork outlining the maintenance work and ongoing storage it had enjoyed through the early 2000’s.
Since then, the car has undergone a comprehensive restoration to ‘concours’ standard and we are proud to present the car today as one of the very best examples of its type available for sale.
Several renowned Marque experts were involved it the vehicle restoration, the evidence of which has been meticulously logged with an extensive file of invoices and a photographic record of the works.
Works completed by Robert Grinter Restorations included, but were not limited to:
• Complete rebuild of engine (no stone left unturned – new pistons, rebuild of all ancillaries, fully balanced and polished cam covers fitted).
• Gearbox rebuild with overdrive fitted to 3rd and 4th gear.
• Restoration, repair and reinforcement of chassis.
• New fuel tank with cabin switchable reserve and new pump.
• Replacement wiring loom, lights and brightwork.
• Replacement ‘big bore’ exhaust system.
• New windscreen.
• Chrome wire wheels.
• Replacement leather interior, carpets (including boot), mohair hood, hood cover and tonneau cover.
Complete restoration and repaint of Glass fibre bodywork by Steve Williams of Maidenhead.
This meticulously prepared Daimler Dart presents today in a beautiful pale ‘ice’ blue (Blue being the original colour marked on the Buff logbook) well matched to a sumptuous pale Cream leather interior. It drives beautifully, track true, switches gear without fuss and pulls cleanly all the way from low rpms. This car wants for nothing and would suit a customer who is looking for the very best example of a Daimler Dart.