Lot details Registration No: CPM710B Chassis No: 104346 Mot Expiry: June 2012
OFFERED FROM A PRIVATE ENTHUSIAST'S COLLECTION
Daimler launched their new sports car at the 1959 New York Motor Show. They wanted to crack the American market and the styling had transatlantic overtones to suit. The car was originally called the Dart, but Daimler quickly succumbed to the threat of legal action from Chrysler's Dodge division and rechristened it the SP250. The newcomer was clothed in a tough fibreglass body and built around a traditional cruciform-braced ladder-frame chassis - the initial A specification version of which was sadly lacking in torsional rigidity. By 1960, Daimler was in Jaguar's hands and the so-called B specification SP250s featured a much stiffer frame, equipped with additional outriggers and a strengthening hoop between the B posts. The C specification model of 1963 brought additional creature comforts. The jewel in the car's crown was its engine, a silky smooth 2.5-litre V-8 unit designed by Edward Turner. With 140bhp on tap and a low all-up weight, the Daimler's performance was strong and the sound was one to savour. Suspension was independent with wishbones and coil springs at the front and a live axle hung on leaf springs at the rear. Braking was by hydraulically-operated discs all-round. According to the Motor magazine test of the period, the SP250 could accelerate to 60mph in a creditable 8.9 seconds and continue on to a top speed of over 120mph.
'CPM 710B' is one of the desirable C specification models and left the factory in 1964. It underwent a very thorough restoration in 1994 and is finished in Dark Blue with a Cream interior. It is understood to have had just four owners and the indicated mileage of 19,148 is believed but not warranted to be genuine. The Daimler is now offered complete with: Works hardtop (unrestored); the original disc wheels, centre hubs and embellishers; buff log book; old MOTs back to 1993 and one valid into June 2012.
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