Walking down Sidney BC's main street recently on a fine sunny day, I spotted a Daimler SP250, known as a "Daimler Dart" until Chrysler threatened legal action. Although SP250s are scarce I remember them primarily because a fellow sports car club member raced one in the same Ontario events where I was competing. Bruce McEchearn wasn't the quickest in his class but at least drove well as the SP250 offered spectators a distinctive sound.
I was quite fascinated with this British vehicle, partly for its Detroit-influenced styling but more for its 2.5 liter hemi-head 140 hp V-8 engine. The SP250 was body-on-frame but said body was fiberglass, making the power-to-weight ratio respectable.
Daimler was aiming at the US market with the SP250, hence the long, fin-like rear fenders. Unfortunately they didn't mesh with the front end. The latter replicated Daimler's classic grille even though the proportions expanded from tall-and-narrow in the sedan to short-and-wide in the sports car. But the tailfins could easily have come from a Rootes Motors' Sunbeam Alpine. And that's ironic because when Chrysler bought Rootes, it quickly killed the Sunbeam Tiger, an Alpine with a Ford V-8 under the hood. Gee, did Chrysler hate the Daimler SP250 (nee Dart) that much?
The engine had originally been developed for use in Daimler sedans before Jaguar bought the brand. Daimlers were mostly of the tall, stately type that resembled Rolls-Royces in the eyes of the "automotive illiterate" (now there's a phrase for you!). During four years working in London my family and I were frequently chauffered in Daimler limousines (fares paid by ad agency employer J. Walter Thompson and billed to our client, Ford of Europe… don't ask).
My inspiration for this blog came from an item in the Hemmings newsletter regarding an upcoming vintage car show in Cleveland. This year marks the Daimler 250's 50th anniversary and so the Daimler and Lanchester Owners Club of North America hopes to have as many V-8 powered roadsters as possible appear at British Car Day XXIII on Saturday, August 1. Bob Santoro of the Daimler and Lanchester Owners Club estimates that 600 SP250s are left in North America of which a third might be roadworthy.
Well, Bob, I can tell you there's one in Sidney BC that looks better than new. And guess what? Those fins are growing on me. It may not be perfection but this is one pretty sports car.
[Photo: Philip Powell]
Daimler SP250 was a good idea. Too bad they didn’t ask someone from the Bretone BAT team to help out on the design. I owned a Mark II Sprite when I went to Italy. Innochinti (sp?) bought the platform from BMC and put a very good looking body on it. Does anybody have a picture? Viva Italian design!!!
July 5, 2009 @ 5:36 am