1952 Daimler DB18 Special Sports Drophead Coupe

1952 Daimler DB18 Special Sports Drophead Coupe

The Daimler Motor Company Limited, based in Coventry, was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H. J. Lawson in 1896. Known as Britain's oldest car manufacturer, they purchased the right to use the Daimler name simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft of Cannstatt, Germany. Following financial difficulties, the company was reorganized in 1904, becoming the Daimler Motor Company. In 1910, it was acquired by the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA). In 1933, BAS purchased the Lanchester Motor Company and made it a subsidiary of Daimler.

Daimler built elegant and luxurious cars and were rewarded in 1902 with a Royal Warrant to provide cars to the British Monarch. Every British monarch from Edward VII to Elizabeth II has been driven in Daimler limousines. They lost this privilege in the 1950s after being supplanted by Rolls-Royce. A persistent transmission failure on the King's car was to blame.

The company had a reputation and tradition based on elegant design, good workmanship, and sound engineering. Development of the pre-war Daimler Fifteen culminated with the DB18 model announced for 1939. It employed an independent suspension setup - the first time on a Daimler - and fitted with an enlarged 2,522cc version of the overhead-valve six-cylinder engine first introduced in 1933. It had a cruciform-braced chassis, worm and roller steering, and Girling mechanical brakes. Daimler's customary fluid flywheel, pre-selector gearbox and underslung worm drive rear axle comprised the transmission. The car's specification included an automatic chassis lubrication system and integral jacking. 50 mph could be achieved in 16 seconds with top speed in the neighborhood of 85 mph.

The DB18 was produced as a four-door Saloon and with a range of, mainly sporting, coachbuilt bodies. The three-seater Drophead Coupes had coachwork by Barker, also one of BSA Groups companies. The standard saloon had coachwork by Mulliners of Birmingham. In 1948, a new drophead coupé called the DB18 Special Sports appeared at the first post-war London Motor Show. Known by contemporaries as the Daimler 2½-litre, the exported models were branded as the Daimler Consort.

The DB-18 had a curved radiator grille, and the alloy-paneled coachwork was more streamlined. It used hydro-mechanical braking and had an 85 horsepower engine courtesy of twin carburetors. Production continued until 1953. Approximately 1,000 DB18s and 25 DB18 Special Sports were produced to 1940. Approximately 3,355 DB18s, 608 DB18 Sports Specials and 4,250 DB18 Consorts were built in the post-war years.

Descriptions & pictures by conceptcarz & handh