Daimler Green Goddess

Daimler
Green Goddess
Production period:	1948-1949
Class :	Upper class
Body versions :	Cabriolet
Engines:	Otto engines : 5.5 liters (152 hp)
Length:	6096 mm
Width:	1955 mm
Height:
Wheelbase :	3734 mm
Empty weight :	3543 kg

The Daimler Green Goddess (German: green goddess) is a two-door convertible from the British automobile manufacturer Daimler from 1948. It is based on the chassis of the Daimler DE36 and has an unusually designed body by Hooper . Green Goddess anticipated the Hooper Empress Line and is also considered the forerunner of a series of show cars that became known as Docker Daimlers . A total of up to eight vehicles of this type were built.

History of origin

The Green Goddess was created in collaboration between the Daimler Motor Company and the body construction company Hooper. Daimler was one of the most exclusive automobile manufacturers in Great Britain in the first half of the 20th century; the company regularly supplied vehicles for the British royal family and other ruling houses, among others . Like Daimler, the Westminster-based body manufacturer Hooper was “quite simply the best” in its industry. Since 1910 (Daimer) and 1938, both companies belonged to the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA), which was headed by Bernard Docker .

Up until the outbreak of World War II , both Hooper and Daimler were known for their reserved, conservative vehicles and bodies. During the war, Hoopers designer Osmond Rivers developed the so-called Empress Line (initially called New Look ), which combines the pre-war Razor Edge design with elements of the pontoon body . Hooper first implemented some of the features of this concept on a Daimler chassis in 1948. The car was a very large convertible painted green. Hooper and Daimler debuted it at the British International Motor Show in 1948 at Earls Court Exhibition Center in London , the first international motor show in Great Britain after World War II. There the car was “the star of the show”. The car was given the designation Green Goddess by journalists .

In 1949 Osmond Rivers further developed the design concept shown at Green Goddess to create the Hooper Empress Line , which from 1950 determined the shape of a number of special models from various Daimler series. These special models were marketed at the factory as Empress I to IV .

Daimler continued the idea of showing a sensational show car every year at the British Motor Show in Earls Court from 1951 to 1955. It goes back to Norah Docker , the wife of BSA chairman Bernard Docker since 1949, who wanted to attract more public attention to the Daimler brand, which is still perceived as sedate. Against this background, the individual pieces The Gold Car (1951), Blue Clover (1952), Silver Flash (1953), Star Dust (1954) and Golden Zebra (1955) were created, which stylistically go back to Green Goddess or were further developments of the design concept. These five cars are commonly referred to as Docker Daimlers, referring to Norah Docker. Green Goddess, on the other hand, is not one of the Docker Daimlers because the model was developed by Bernard and Norah Docker before the marriage. Green Goddess is only seen as a “harbinger of what is to come”. The fact that Norah Docker actually made a substantial contribution to the basic design is mostly disputed: "What Lady Docker contributed to Rivers' flowing lines was nothing more than a touch of honest vulgarity." Others say that Norah Docker had the "wonderfully balanced forms ( by Osmond Rivers) ruined by bad taste ”.

Model description

The Daimler Green Goddess is a 6-meter-long and 3.5-ton convertible whose drive technology can be traced back to the 1930s.

technology

The Green Goddess is based on a chassis from the DE36 series, Daimler's largest model that was actually intended for chauffeur limousines and state cars. The basis is a separate steel frame, the side parts of which are connected to one another by cross-shaped struts. The front wheels are individually suspended and guided by double wishbones . Coil springs are used at the front . A rigid axle with leaf springs is installed at the rear . The car is powered by an in-line eight-cylinder engine with 5460 cc displacement, the maximum output of which is 150 bhp (152 PS, 110 kW). The regular DE36 engine was not modified for use in the Green Goddess . The power transmission is taken over by Daimler's Fluid Flywheel pre - selection gear .

body

Concealed headlights of the Green Goddess

The Green Goddess is a two-door, five-seat convertible. There are three seats in the front and two in the back. The rear seats are offset towards the center of the car.

The body of the Green Goodess is made of aluminum sheets. They are supported by a frame made of ash wood and metal-reinforced plywood. The front fenders are free, as is customary in the pre-war design. At the rear, however, there are no longer any molded fenders. The rear passenger compartment is so wide that it includes the rear wheels. They are completely covered by so-called spats . The tapering front fenders and a largely horizontal trim strip meet at the lower end of the rear of the car. These design features can later also be found in Hoopers Empress Line . An independent element of the Green Goddess , on the other hand, is the stacked double headlights, which are embedded in the front ends of the fender and covered with a transparent, slightly curved pane made of Perspex . Hooper did not pick up on this detail in the series models of the Empress Line ; with the exception of the Golden Zebra , however, it is found in all Docker Daimler's. The side windows and the convertible top are electrically operated. When folded, the hood disappears completely under a metal cover.

Performance

There are no independent tests or driving reports on Green Goddess . The top speed is estimated at 80 mph (129 km / h) or 90 mph (145 km / h). Norah Docker found the car cumbersome and practically impossible to drive.

production

The exhibit

The Green Goddess exhibited in Earls Court in October 1948 is based on the DE36 chassis no. 51233. Following this, the car was also shown in New York and Paris . In 1949, Bernard Docker took over the car for private use. Over the course of the first few months, the car gradually underwent some changes at Hooper before it was transferred to Cannes , where the Dockers had a vacation home. In 1954, the 51233 chassis received a completely new body, which stylistically continued to correspond to that of the original Green Goddess . The revised car was sold as a new car to a British customer in 1954, before making a detour to the USA. In 2009, it was auctioned in California at a price of $ 249,000 (€ 232,558).

More copies

After the success of the Green Goddess in Earls Court in 1948, Daimler received several orders for replicas. Up until the early 1950s, depending on the source, five, seven or eight vehicles were built in the style of the Green Goddess . According to one source, at least two Rolls-Royce chassis were also fitted with a green-goddess body. The purchase price was £ 7,001. This made them the most expensive British cars of their time. Not all replicas were delivered in green paint. Regardless of which color they were given at the customer's request, they are uniformly referred to as Green Goddess .

It is certain that at least four of the replicas still exist at the beginning of the 21st century.

Green Goddess in the movie

A Green Goddess appears in the British feature film Me and the Lord Director (original title: Trouble in Store ), which was produced in 1953.

literature

• David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975 , Poundbury, Veloce Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-1-845845-83-4
• Tim Hogarth: The Dazzling Lady Docker: Britain's Forgotten Reality Superstar , Scratching Shed Publishing Ltd., 2018, ISBN 978-0995586147
• 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
• Halwart Schrader: Jaguar type compass - passenger cars since 1931 , Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-613-02106-4
• Heiner Stertkamp: Jaguar - The complete chronicle from 1922 to today , 2nd edition, Heel-Verlag, 2006, ISBN 3-89880-337-6
• James Taylor: Coachwork on Rolls-Royce & Bentley 1945–1965 , Herridge & Sons, Beaworthy, 2019, ISBN 978-1-906133-89-4
• Richard Townsend: Docker's Daimlers. Daimler and Lanchester Cars 1945 to 1960 , Amberley Publishing, Stroud, 2017, ISBN 978 1 4456 6316 6
• Nick Walker: A – Z of British Coachbuilders 1919–1960 . Shebbear 2007 (Herridge & Sons Ltd.) ISBN 978-0-9549981-6-5 .

Web links

Commons : Daimler Green Goddess  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• The Daimler Green Goddess on the website www.jaguarheritage.com

Individual evidence

1. ^ Brian Long: Daimler & Lanchester. A Century of Motor History , Longford International Publications, 1995, ISBN 1899154019 , p. 202.
2. ↑ Nick Walker: A – Z of British Coachbuilders 1919–1960. Shebbear 2007 (Herridge & Sons Ltd.) ISBN 978-0-9549981-6-5 , p. 127.
3. ↑ History Hoopers on the website www.coachbuild.com (accessed on 21 March 2020).
4. ↑ James Taylor: Coachwork on Rolls-Royce & Bentley 1945–1965 , Herridge & Sons, Beaworthy, 2019, ISBN 978-1-906133-89-4 , p. 91.
5. ^ Brian Long: Daimler & Lanchester. A Century of Motor History , Longford International Publications, 1995, ISBN 1899154019 , p. 206.
6. ^ ^{A b c d} N.N .: The 1948 London Motor Show, Earls Court Exhibition, ex-Sir Bernard Docker "from the Estate of the Late John H. Sweeney", 1948 Daimler DE-36 "Green Goddess" - The Chairman's Car. www.bonhams.com, August 14, 2009, accessed March 21, 2020 . 
7. ↑ ^{a b} Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, David Burgess-Wise: Daimler Century . Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1995, ISBN 1-85260-494-8 , p. 258.
8. ^ Brian Long: Daimler V8 SP 250 , Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2008, ISBN 9781904788775 , p. 16.
9. ↑ ^{a b c} Richard Townsend: Docker's Daimlers. Daimler and Lanchester Cars 1945 to 1960 , Amberley Publishing, Stroud, 2017, ISBN 978 1 4456 6316 6 , p. 79.
10. ^ ^{A b} Brian Sewell: Daimler: Extravagant design and magnificent bodywork. www.independent.co.uk, February 10, 2004, accessed March 19, 2020 . 
11. ^ David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975 , Poundbury, Veloce Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-1-845845-83-4 , p. 116.
12. ^ Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, David Burgess-Wise: Daimler Century . Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1995, ISBN 1-85260-494-8 , p. 257.
13. ^ ^{A b c d} Brian Long: Daimler & Lanchester. A Century of Motor History , Longford International Publications, 1995, ISBN 1899154019 , p. 207.
14. ^ Brian Long: Daimler & Lanchester. A Century of Motor History , Longford International Publications, 1995, ISBN 1899154019 , p. 206.
15. ↑ Daimler Green Goddess on the website www.imcdb.org (accessed on March 21, 2020).