Independent spirit

DAIMLER IN the late Fifties had been a brand almost on the brink of disaster. The fallout from the reign of the Docker family had been considerable – not only had money been squandered on useless show vehicles, but their gaudiness had lost the marque the Royal Warrant and a lack of funds to replace the Conquest had led to a range that was out of kilter with austere post-war Britain. Plans to partner with Vauxhall to create a ‘Daimlerised’ Cresta named DN250 ultimately would come to nothing, and while enthusiasts bemoan the Jaguar takeover as the end of Daimler autonomy the truth is that without Jaguar, the marque would likely have folded. After all, Daimler’s then owner, Birmingham Small Arms Company – which had owned the brand since 1910 – had made no secret it wanted out.

The takeover suited Jaguar, of course. The Browns Lane company needed the extra manufacturing space that Daimler’s Radford factory offered, and in time moved all vehicle production to Browns Lane and all subsidiary production such as engine lines across to Radford. The gestation of the Daimler 2.5 V8 began in this era. Jaguar had inherited Daimler’s distribution network as well as its