Daimler is more than just the parent company of Mercedes-Benz. It was once a stand-alone brand that has had quite a tumultuous history. Ultimately, Jaguar put the Daimler badge on its models to dispose of it in the trash by the end of the previous decade. In this edition of De Vluchtstrook: a brief overview of Daimler’s history.
How is it possible that the name Daimler ended up in England? For that we have to go back to the end of the 19th century. The young engineer Fredrick Richard Simms had come into contact with Gottlieb Daimler, the German who founded the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft in 1890. In 1890 Simms acquired the patent and trademark rights for all of Daimler’s inventions in Great Britain. He then founded the Daimler Motor Syndicate in 1893 with a number of friends. In October 1895 Simms was approached by investor Harry Lawson. He saw potential in the car industry and with The British Motor Syndicate was looking to obtain a monopoly on British car production. He was the man who would continue with the British Daimler.
The early years
The sale of Daimler was completed in November 1895. Lawson then founded The Daimler Motor Company Limited in early 1896. The first cars were imported from Germany or France, it was not until 1897 that Daimler started building cars in Great Britain. The Grafton Phaeton then rolled out of the Coventry factory. Daimler soon received a ‘royal warrant’ from Edward VII, making the brand purveyor to the British royal family. This soon went much further than just the British royal family, because in Spain, Prussia and Johor Daimler was also popular with the people of blue blood. Daimler did not fall out of favor with the British royals until 1950. The reason? A failing gearbox on the DE 27 state limousine. Much earlier, in 1899, a Daimler was also involved in the first fatal accident with a motorized vehicle in England. Hard braking caused the rim of one of the rear wheels to collapse, causing the four occupants to fly out of the car. One of them died in hospital three days later.
One of the first Daimlers: the Grafton Phaeton from 1897.
As would later be the case with so many other British car manufacturers, Daimler could not stand on its own two feet. In 1910 Daimler merged with the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA). In addition to weapons, ammunition and military vehicles, BSA also produced bicycles, motorcycles and even cars, albeit for a short time. Daimler did not only make luxury limousines. The manufacturer also focused on the production of buses, trucks and ambulances. During the First World War, Daimler mainly produced for the army. Small military vehicles were built and engines were supplied for tanks and airplanes. Here Daimler also gained the necessary experience in building V12 engines. In 1926 this led to the introduction of the Daimler Double Six, a car produced in many different variations. One of the typical Daimlers style features was the ribbed edge at the top of the grille. In a later chapter of the brand that would become the main landmark.
The 1931 Daimler Double Six 50 Sport Corsica Drophead Coupe.
Enlisted by Jaguar
Jaguar took over Daimler from BSA in 1960 for £ 3.4 million. At the time, Jaguar promised it would continue to expand the Daimler line-up and continue to invest the money in developing Daimler-specific models. That turned out to be a false promise. Instead of developing standalone products, Jaguar put the 4.5-liter V8 from Daimler in the Mark X and drove it around the MIRA test bench. What turned out? With the Daimler engine, the Mark X was faster than with the Jaguar power unit itself. This laid the foundation. Jaguar ceased production of the Majestic in 1962, which is as big as its name suggests. The curtain fell for the more sporty SP250 in 1964. Only the large DR450, the last car developed by Daimler itself, remained in production under Jaguar until 1968. This was then succeeded by the DS420, which finally remained in production until 1992.
Daimler DS420, with Jaguar components.
The most popular Daimler ever: the V8-250
With more than 17,600 units produced, the Daimler 2.5 V8, later called the V8-250, is Daimler’s most popular model. In essence, it is a rebadged Jaguar Mark II, with the Daimler logos and the characteristic ribbing on top of the grille and rear license plate holder as distinctive style elements. Under the hood it was a different story, because it housed the 143 hp 2.5-liter V8 that Daimler also used in the SP250. With its power it was between the 2.4 and 3.4-liter six-in-line from Jaguar, which made the placement of the Daimler somewhat special. Daimler was supposed to be the luxury brand, but the V8-250 was not the top of the line-up.
Daimlers had in fact become Jaguars with different badges, the later Daimler Sovereign and Double-Six based on the Jaguar XJ were a good example of this. The Daimlers simply had Jaguar engines, had a slightly more luxurious interior decoration and were distinguishable from a Jaguar thanks to the logos and the ribbed top of the grille. That was essentially the only difference. In honor of Daimler’s 100th anniversary, the Corsica Concept was unveiled in 1996, a convertible based on the Double-Six. For Daimler that could have meant that there would finally be a unique model under the brand, but it remained with a one-off, which incidentally had no engine under the hood and served purely as a show model. It is currently in the British Motor Museum.
A missed opportunity: the Corsica Concept.
Pim Fortuyn
In the Netherlands, Pim Fortuyn is without a doubt the most famous Daimler owner. He was driven in a long wheelbase Daimler Super V8. He was one of the few, because Daimler never really got off the ground as the luxury brand of Jaguar. The differences between them were simply too small for that. Under Ford, Jaguar continued with Daimler, but after the takeover by Tata in 2007, the brand name fell. The last model Jaguar produced under the Daimler name was the Super Eight based on the XJ X350. Incidentally, the rights to the Daimler brand name are still held by Tata. It seems unlikely that a new Daimler will ever come, but never say ‘never’.
What about Mercedes?
As mentioned at the beginning, the British Daimler was separate from the German Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. That company eventually merged with Karl Benz’s Benz & Cie. In 1926, creating Daimler-Benz AG. After that it was agreed that all factories would use the name ‘Mercedes-Benz’ on their products. So the Germans no longer used the brand name ‘Daimler’, except for the parent company. From 1998 to 2007 it was called DaimlerChrysler, before being renamed again in 2007 to the current Daimler AG.