Model
250 Saloon
Make
Daimler
Body
Saloon
Year
1967
Colour
Maroon
Description
The first Daimler model to be based on Jaguar under-pinnings, the 250 Saloons were built at the Daimler, Coventry plant from 1962 until 1969. Jaguar had bought Daimler Cars Limited in 1960 and did little to Daimler’s range of cars – the thrust had been to expand and refine production. However, Daimler required a replacement for the aging Conquest, and it was found in the idea of the 250 saloon.
Not just a badge-engineered Jaguar MkII though, the 250 was so named for its two-and-a-half litre, Edward Turner-designed V8. A stark contrast to the great edifice of a legendary engine, the XK straight six, that Jaguar used. Lifted from the Majestic Major, the Turner V8 was both more compact and lighter, 51kg in fact, than the Jaguar XK unit.
As far as Daimler cars were concerned, it was also their first model to be based on a unibody, rather than traditional body-on-frame construction. Though easily mistaken for a Mark II Jag, close inspection reveals Daimler’s fluted grille, a notable fixture upon all Daimler cars prior to the 250, and in the years that a Daimler / Jaguar variant existed. It is a car of great character, and of great style; one of the few saloons of the sixties that managed to blend elegance with an air of sporting ability and charm.