Daimler DS420

Sticking to our theme this week of big luxury cars, today I present the Daimler DS420 or simply known as the Daimler Limousine. I’m sure by just looking at the picture above you will understand why it’s called a limousine. It’s size certainly makes it’s presence felt wherever the car may be and of course when there is such a car present, you will know that there is someone important present as well. The Daimler DS420 was used by many countries as their official car which of course included Great Britain. Other than that, a notable non-royalty owner was Howard Hughes who was also a well known aviator.

 Later model with rubber bumpers

Landaulet model with a rear passenger open top

The Daimler DS420 indeed had a very long production period which lasted about 25 years from 1968 up to 1992 and in those years only around 5,000 units were built. That is certainly not much from 25 years of production but that’s what made the car exclusive to it’s owners. It only came with one engine variant and that was the famous 4.2 litre inline 6 cylinder. Even though there was only one engine variant but there were many types of bodies available, mainly built by coachbuilders.

With so few built, this model still never became a sought after vehicle. Checking out prices overseas showed that the cars were available for as low as £2,000 depending on it’s condition of course. Many are sued as wedding rentals as a car it’s size is quite suited to be used for such occasions and the rear space is just enormous and it also had extra foldable seats at the rear (pic above). But I’ve personally not seen any in Malaysia as yet though there may be a few hiding in garages around the country but personally I doubt all are in running condition. I leave you with two videos to get you closer to the car, on the screen at least..

Jaguar XJ40

Many Jaguar enthusiasts will not call this particular model a true Jaguar. If you’re a Jaguar enthusiast I’m sure you know the model that I’m talking about is the Jaguar XJ40. The XJ40 featured many characteristics that were actually quite far from the classic Jaguar identity such as the square headlamps for the Daimler and Sovereign models (the low spec XJ6 models came with round lights) and not to mention it’s design itself which was quite boxy though it still maintained it’s sleekness. The XJ40 came in Jaguar as well as Daimler variants. The production years were from late 1986 up to 1994.

Being the model that succeeded the popular Jaguar Series III, the XJ40 certainly had a lot to live up to. It was initially introduced with a 2.9 litre and a 3.6 litre engine codenamed the AJ6 (it was a different design compared to the classic XK engines) and later they were replaced by the 3.2 litre and the 4 litre engines respectively. All these engines were inline six engines but there was also a rare 6 litre V12 engine available. I’ve personally driven a 4 litre and I must say it’s probably the best engine for the XJ40 as it has that ‘Jaguar’ roar whereas the other engines are a little underpowered.

As for the interior, the initial models right up to 1990 came with a digital display dashboard but was later changed to analogue meters as the digital displays were failure prone and were indeed very pricey to replace. Basically if you want to purchase one, it’s got to be done with a lot of care as many of these models tend to be not well maintained as this car is definitely not for the faint-hearted. The best models to purchase are the post-1990 models where it’s new parent company had done lost of quality improvements. Even my opposite neighbour who owns an ‘87 Sovereign has given up on the car after spending tonnes of money on it and now the car is literally sleeping being protected by a cover.

On a personal note, this is a car I don’t mind owning but of course if possible I’d like the Daimler variant. In Malaysia, you’ll be able to get good cars just below the RM 20k mark with some homework of course. And not forgetting, as an owner you need to maintain the car as well as pay the high road tax if it does not already qualify for the Classic road tax. Like I said, Jaguars are not for the faint-hearted.

 Below are three videos on the Jaguar XJ40 developments:

The history of the three-pointed star

Whenever any one of us thinks of a Mercedes Benz, the first thing that comes to mind is the three-pointed star. It is what the ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ is to Rolls-Royce and the ‘Leaper’ is to Jaguar, it’s an icon. The three-pointed star has become probably one of the most recognized automotive symbols of all time but have any of us actually ever wondered what does the star symbolise or why does it have three points instead of four or five? 

Here’s a brief walk through history for those of you who are interested. The three-points actually symbolise the three modes of transport that we have that is land, sea and air. It was actually the idea of Paul and Adolf Daimler, the sons’ of one of the founding fathers none other than Gottlieb Daimler. Gottlieb had actually used the three-pointed symbol to mark the family’s house on a post card with a view of the town of Deutz in Cologne, Germany.

It was then patented by the then parent company Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft or in short DMG and has been in use on their cars since 1910.

Source: Daimler.com