1960 Daimler SP250 'Dart'

Registration No: ESK 579
Chassis No: 100636
MOT: Exempt

• Just three keepers since the late 1970s
• Extensively restored including a repaint, retrim, brake / suspension work and engine overhaul
• A rare and much underrated British sports car

Daimler launched their new sports car at the New York Motor Show of 1959. 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 version of which (as found on A specification cars), was sadly lacking in torsional rigidity. By 1960, the Daimler Motor Company 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 jewel in the car's crown was its engine, a silky smooth 2.5-litre V8 unit designed by Edward Turner and featuring the revolutionary hemispherical combustion chamber technology he pioneered on his Triumph motorcycle engines. 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 123.7mph.

According to its accompanying history file, chassis 100636 was first registered as ‘JH 180’ in London during April 1960 (and indeed still bears a Stratstone of Mayfair badge to its glovebox lid). Repainted from Ivory to Silver Grey, the Daimler had been off the road for several years by the time that Laurence Trackman Esq of Cheltenham acquired it during the late 1970s. His attempts to retain the original number plate failed with the DVLA re-registering the Dart as ‘ESK 579’ some forty-six years ago. Belonging to Mr Trackman for almost three decades, the two-seater was partially restored by Classic Cars of Wirral from 2009-2010. Resprayed Gunmetal Grey in 2013 and re-trimmed in Black with White piping thereafter, the Daimler was entrusted to Baz Cope Engineering for attention to its front suspension, steering idler and brakes during 2015. Treated to a new exhaust three years later, more recent servicing / maintenance has been entrusted to The Oulton Workshop. A desirable B-specification Dart that has had three keepers since the late 1970s and is finished in arguably one of the best colour combinations, ‘ESK 579’ is offered for sale with V5C Registration Document and history file.

For more information, please contact:
Damian Jones
damian.jones@handh.co.uk
07855 493737