Daimler DN250

Starting in 1958 , the British automobile manufacturer Daimler developed a four-door notchback sedan under the project name Daimler DN250 , which was supposed to combine a medium-sized series body from Vauxhall with an eight-cylinder engine from Daimler. It should be the brand's new entry-level model. The project only reached the prototype stage; serial production did not materialize.

History of the project

To be replaced: Daimler Conquest (1953–1958)

2.5 liter eight-cylinder engine from Daimler

The Daimler Motor Company, founded in 1896, was one of the most exclusive British automobile manufacturers in the first half of the 20th century. The company, which has been part of the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) since 1910 , regularly supplied vehicles for the British royal family . The position of the company changed after the end of the Second World War , when the competitor Vanden Plas gradually took over the market leadership in the field of large sedans. As a result, Daimler tried to serve lower-priced market segments with the Consort and Conquest models in parallel with the representative vehicles that were still being produced .

In 1958 Daimler discontinued the Conquest, which was based on the Lanchester 14 introduced in 1950 , without an immediate successor being available. Efforts had been made to bring a Conquest successor under Daimler's subsidiary Lanchester with the model name Sprite to series production; however, they had already been abandoned in 1957 after 13 prototypes had been built for economic reasons, but possibly also for corporate policy reasons.

The discontinuation of the development of a Conquest successor was problematic insofar as Daimler urgently needed a car of this format. In 1958, the company had completed the development of a 2.5-liter eight-cylinder engine, led by Edward Turner , which was primarily intended for use in a small sedan. Daimler's 142 hp (104 kW) eight-cylinder was first used in series production in the two-seater sports car SP250 ("Dart"), which was quickly designed to fill the gap with the help of the car body construction company Carbodies . It was foreseeable, however, that the SP250, as a niche product, could not be sold in the quantities that were necessary for the eight-cylinder engine to be profitable. Because Daimler did not have enough funds to develop its own limousine, the management team came up with the idea in mid-1958 to take over a large-scale limousine from a third-party manufacturer, to “daimlerize” it in terms of style and to equip it with an eight-cylinder engine. In conceptual terms, Daimler took up a practice that has been common in Great Britain for several years. The upgrading of a high-volume model through stylistic modifications was common at the British Motor Corporation and the Rootes Group . With this process, known as badge engineering , both groups served a whole range of differently positioned brands with constantly new derivatives of the same basic construction.

After attempts to make a French Panhard Dyna Z the basis, probably failed due to political resistance, the choice fell on the British GM subsidiary Vauxhall and its mid-range model Cresta of the PA series, introduced in 1957, following the mediation of Edward Turner .

Daimler led the project under the designation DN250, with the number 250 referring to the displacement of the engine (2.5 liters). At the same time, there were some alternative considerations, including attempts to develop a sedan on the extended chassis of the 250SP sports car (Daimler Dynamic). They all failed, still in the development stage, in the run-up to the takeover of Daimler by Jaguar in 1960. Jaguar had no need for a modified Vauxhall. Instead, Jaguar equipped its own Mark II sedan with Daimler's eight-cylinder engine and sold this variant as the Daimler 250 V8 from 1962 .

A few years later, Rolls-Royce made a very similar attempt with the Rolls-Royce Rangoon project based on the BMC ADO17 , which also failed.

description

Mass production model: Vauxhall Cresta PA

Cresta PA: panoramic windshield also at the rear

In 1958, the idea was to take over the self-supporting body -in- white of the four-door Vauxhall Cresta from Vauxhall and to change it stylistically so that it corresponded to Daimler's design tradition.

In the autumn of 1958, a series of drawings was made for this, in which the details sometimes differ greatly from one another. All drafts are consistent in that they focus on changing the front section. The first drawings were limited to replacing the horizontally aligned radiator grille of the Cresta with a differently patterned grille with a stylized V (for V8). Later designs include the addition of Daimler's vertical fluted grill , while the rest of the front section should be clad with sheet metal. There were different designs for the headlights. In some cases, as with the Cresta, a single headlight was provided; At least one draft, however, suggested round, side by side double headlights, which should be located at the front end of the fenders under a protruding canopy. The front panoramic window of the Cresta was to be retained; Daimler considered them important in the event of export to the USA . The designs also vary for the design of the C-pillar . While the panoramic window of the Cresta was partly to be used here, one drawing provided for a wide C-pillar with a rear window that was only slightly pulled around. The tail fins of the Cresta remained unchanged in all designs.

prototype

Daimler built a ready-to-drive prototype in which a Daimler eight-cylinder engine with automatic transmission was installed in a Vauxhall Cresta of the PA series, the appearance of which completely corresponded to Vauxhall's production model. The prototype was tested in extensive test drives in England. They took place before the start of production of the SP250 sports car and were primarily intended to test the suitability of the eight-cylinder engine for everyday use.

In addition, a 1: 1 scale model was created on which various design variants were tried out.

Replicas

Individual collectors have since taken up the concept and equipped Vauxhall Cresta sedans with Daimler's eight-cylinder engines.

literature

• David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975 , Poundbury, Veloce Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-1-845845-83-4
• Brian Long: Daimler & Lanchester. A Century of Motor History , Longford International Publications, 1995, ISBN 1899154019
• Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, David Burgess-Wise: Daimler Century . Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1995, ISBN 1-85260-494-8
• NN: The Daimler V8s . In: The Driving Member. The Official Journal of the Daimler & Lanchester Owners Club, July 1999, p. 7 ff.
• Michael Riley: The Vanishing V8s. In: The Driving Member. The Official Journal of the Daimler & Lanchester Owners Club.
• Brian Smith: The Daimler Tradition . Transport Bookman Publications, London, 1972, ISBN 0 85184 004 3 , September 1987
• Richard Townsend: Docker's Daimlers. Daimler and Lanchester Cars 1945 to 1960 , Amberley Publishing, Stroud, 2017, ISBN 978 1 4456 6316 6

Web links

• Private website for the Daimler DN250

Remarks

1. ↑ The failure of the Lanchester Sprite was officially justified with economic considerations: Bringing the Sprite to series production would have required high costs. The decision to end the development coincided with the departure of Sir Bernard and Lady Nora Docker from the BSA management. Because the reputation of the Dockers was viewed critically, in particular due to Nora Docker's extrovert behavior at BSA and, according to widespread opinion, had also damaged Daimler's reputation, the company's management tried to separate as clearly as possible from the Dockers in 1957. Some sources suggest that the Lanchester Sprite was actually discontinued for this reason, as Sprite was one of Bernard Docker's favorite projects. See Brian Long: Daimler & Lanchester. A Century of Motor History , Longford International Publications, 1995, ISBN 1899154019 , p. 245.
2. ↑ The available sources assume that the British government refused to import finished vehicles from France for protectionist reasons. See Brian Long: Daimler & Lanchester. A Century of Motor History , Longford International Publications, 1995, ISBN 1899154019 , p. 247

Individual evidence

1. ^ Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, David Burgess-Wise: Daimler Century . Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1995, ISBN 1-85260-494-8 , p. 272.
2. ^ Richard Townsend: Docker's Daimlers. Daimler and Lanchester Cars 1945 to 1960 , Amberley Publishing, Stroud, 2017, ISBN 978 1 4456 6316 6 , p. 26.
3. ^ Brian Long: Daimler & Lanchester. A Century of Motor History , Longford International Publications, 1995, ISBN 1899154019 , p. 245.
4. ^ ^{A b c} Brian Smith: The Daimler Tradition . Transport Bookman Publications, London, 1972, ISBN 0 85184 004 3 , p. 285.
5. ↑ NN: The Daimler V8s . In: The Driving Member. The Official Journal of the Daimler & Lanchester Owners Club. July 1999, p. 7.
6. ^ ^{A b} Brian Long: Daimler & Lanchester. A Century of Motor History , Longford International Publications, 1995, ISBN 1899154019 , p. 248.
7. ^ ^{A b} Richard Townsend: Docker's Daimlers. Daimler and Lanchester Cars 1945 to 1960 , Amberley Publishing, Stroud, 2017, ISBN 978 1 4456 6316 6 , p. 70.
8. ^ ^{A b} Brian Long: Daimler & Lanchester. A Century of Motor History , Longford International Publications, 1995, ISBN 1899154019 , p. 247.
9. ↑ James Taylor: Jaguar Mks 1 and 2, S-Type and 420 , Crowood Press, ISBN 9781785001130 .
10. ↑ Lance Cole: The Classic Car Adventure: Driving Through History on the Road to Nostalgia , Casemate Publishers, 2017, ISBN 9781473896437 .
11. ^ Gary Anderson: English Patient: How one little car brought down an empire , Sports Car Market, August 2008, p. 50.
12. ↑ NN: The Daimler V8s . In: The Driving Member. The Official Journal of the Daimler & Lanchester Owners Club. July 1999, p. 8.
13. ↑ Prototypes: Rolls-Royce / Bentley collaboration with BMC (accessed February 7, 2020).
14. ^ Peter Mansfeld: Rolls-Royce . Introduction and brand history as well as an interview with Rolls-Royce designer Fritz Feller. In: Geo . Issue 9/1980, p. 112 ff.
15. ^ ^{A b} Brian Long: Daimler & Lanchester. A Century of Motor History , Longford International Publications, 1995, ISBN 1899154019 , p. 250.
16. ↑ Description of a project on the website www.daimler-dn250.net (accessed on February 7, 2020) .