Descripción
Manufactured 18. 11. 63 - First registered 1. 2. 64 (Delivered to Stratstone 27. 11. 63)
The SP-250 “Dart” was Daimler’s final complete new car launched under BSA ownership before its sale to Jaguar. It was an unusually sporty offering from the otherwise conservative Daimler, featuring a flashy fiberglass body set on a ladder chassis, and powered by a 2. 5-litre Hemi-head V8 engine designed by Edward Turner. With 140 horsepower and 155 ft-lbs of torque, the SP250 was one of the fastest British roadsters of its day, with the added bonus of its unmistakable V8 exhaust note.
The tail-finned 122mph two-seater Daimler Dart was built in Coventry and launched at the 1959 New York Motor Show achieving great success in the North American market. Built with a fibreglass body, Girling disc brakes all round and a 2. 5 litre Hemi-head V8 engine designed by Edward Turner, the car was described as a 2+2 but the bench-like rear seat offered very limited leg room unless the front seats were pushed fully forward. Thirty black Daimler Darts with the Borg-Warner Model 8, 3-speed automatic were used by the British Metropolitan Police.
The SP250 made its debut in April 1959 at the New York auto show, where it was unveiled as the Dart. But Dodge had already registered the name and started throwing its toys out of the pram – forcing Daimler to come up with the rather bland SP250 moniker instead. After some minor bits of re-engineering the car made its debut at the October 1959 Earls Court motor show, where it was announced that 7500 would be sold in the first three years. Production would then settle at the rate of 3000 a year, the bulk of cars going to the US. In the event, fewer than 3000 cars were made in a five-year production span, with 1200 of those being left-hookers. The car may have been a failure in its day, but it only makes for a less predictable and thoroughly desirable classic now.
Daimler's lack of due diligence with the Dart name was only one of their mistakes state-side - the car was way over-priced, and the virtually unknown Daimler marque in the USA with virtually no service back-up didn't help.
Sometimes you can own a car and not necessarily realise that you've actually found your motoring nirvana - you simply just don't know it at the time. Then you go on to experience ownership of a load of other cars and eventually come back to where you started. And that's exactly what happened here. I owned a Dart (7888 RF) when I was 21, and regretted selling it for the next three decades.
There’s no shortage of fast British roadsters from which to choose if you’re after a desirable classic. The problem for many is that most decent Brit sportsters are rather predictable, but there are exceptions, and the Daimler SP250 is often overlooked. Perhaps it’s because of the rarity; with just 2, 645 built during a five-year production run, there aren’t many to go around. Whatever the grounds for the SP250 being overlooked, there are plenty more reasons why you want one – not least of all the performance on offer. There’s also no body rot to worry about – the glassfibre shell is tougher than most and rarely needs any significant TLC. Unless the car has been really neglected it’s unlikely that you’ll spend much on keeping an SP250 going – they’re strong and with superb parts availability it’s never an issue getting the bits you need.
I have owned a succession of Sports car from America, France, Italy and of course British. This includes E-Types, Triumphs and three Darts. It would be unfair to draw comparisons with Italian Sports cars, but if I had a choice between driving an E-Type, TR4a, TR5 or a Dart, it would be the Dart every day of the week. The V8 is an absolute delight and the car handles better than the other aforementioned Brit cars. The discs all-round and the overdrive make this is a super-fun car to drive including motorway touring.
In recent years, demand has outstripped supply and yet the value of the 500 or so that are still in existence (and even fewer actually roadworthy) have remained stable - the prices have not enjoyed the dizzy heights of some of its counterparts. This means you get to enjoy an important slice of British motoring history that can hold its own in modern traffic and any mechanic will have no problems keeping it on the road.
This car won a Daimler concours competition in 1996.
It was also featured in 'Practical Classics' in May 1996.
Other notable features:
The car has a complete Stainless exhaust.
Rack and pinion steering conversion.
Retro-fitted Brake Servo
New fuel tank 1993
Spax adjustable shocks to front
Complete front and rear brake and suspension overhaul less than 1, 000 miles ago including Trunnions, ball joints, bearings and seals were replaced.
Rebuild rear brake calipers (December 2021)
This is an iconic and powerful sports car that does everything that Italian exotics do but at a fraction of the price - I know, I've owned both. Things don't fall off, you won't need a cambelt change every three days, or a bloke with a B. Sc. to change the plugs, but you do get that awesome V8 burble and unbelievable torque in a small refined package with an amazing parts availability.
There are usually a handful of Darts for sale at any one time, but as someone who has owned three and been to view around 20 I would have no hesitation in saying this one is properly sorted with no known issues and has undergone all the important conversions to make it useable. I really didn't need to rebuild the entire running gear, but I enjoy fixing them as much as I do driving them and Darts are a joy to work on. Obviously this is made easier with the amazing parts back-up.
Priced to sell.
