Absolutely stunning! Definitively in my top 5 favorite pre war cars...if not THE favorite. Heres a bit of history on this model...
Apart from being exceptionally well put together, Daimlers offered an extremely quiet ride thanks to adoption of the Knight patented sleeve valve engines. These used sliding valves to open and close the intake and exhaust ports in complete silence. This was quite a contrast to the rattle usually produced by the conventional camshaft actuated valve. A drawback of this configuration was that the valves required lubrication to work properly, resulting in a visible oil-smoke trail wherever one ventured out with a sleeve valve Daimler. Just like the Phantom, the then current line up of Daimlers all featured six cylinder engines, so to really take centre stage something a little more exotic was required; a V12. Aptly named the Double Six, the new engine was designed by the company's chief engineer L. H. Pomeroy. Using the basic design of the six cylinder engines, consisting of two sets of three cylinders, he relatively easily created the new engine with the aluminium crankcase being the only completely new part. Each bank of six cylinders had a separate intake, exhaust and ignition system. In the process Pomeroy also refined the sleeve-valve design by replacing the cast-iron valves with more precisely manufactured steel ones, which significantly lowered the oil consumption.
Production of the Daimler Double Six commenced in 1926 and although the model remained available until 1936, a production figure of as low as 26 is frequently quoted, although a figure closer to 75 seems more likely. All of them were built to meet the special demands of the owners and as a result no two were alike. The V12 engine was also available in a very wide variety of displacements ranging from the initial 7136cc for the 'Double Six 50' to 3477cc for the 'Double Six 30'. Being the most complex and exotic machine available at the time, the Double Six appealed to local and foreign Royals. Britain's King George owned two seven person limousines and King Hussain of Jordan was driven around in an open example. Daimler's top model did not only form the basis for lavish luxury vehicles, but also for a number of 'sporty' fixed head and drop top models. All of them shared a conventional pressed steel ladder frame chassis of which the wheelbase varied from very long to even longer. There was one notable exception, which sported a custom chassis constructed by Thompson and Taylor to a design penned by Reid Railton. It differed from the other chassis that it had an underslung rear end, which made the rolling chassis considerably lower. Railton would later use this design for the highly acclaimed Invicta S-Type. Before being bodied and sold to its first customer, the low-chassis Daimler was used as a demonstrator of Daimler's excellence for a considerable time.
Featured is Daimler Double Six chassis 30661; the unique low chassis model. When the chassis returned from Thompson and Taylor, it was by no means straightforward to bolt all the bits and pieces to it. Many modifications were required to install the engine, including fitting a new sump, rerouting the exhaust and as a result changing the ignition. This was all caused by the fact that the ride height was considerably lower, which would have been even worse if Daimler had not fitted gigantic 23 inch wheels. After its display duties, the chassis was fitted with Thrupp and Maberly close-coupled drophead coupe body in the summer of 1929. Fitted with a conventional gearbox, the car was sold or loaned to Captain Wilson of preselector gearbox fame. It's uncertain if the car served as a test vehicle for the Wilson gearbox, but from the following year a Wilson gearbox was available as an option on Daimler models. Now equipped with a preselector gearbox, the unique Double Six was sold or given back to the factory in 1930 or early in 1931. For its next owner, the car was equipped with a fixed head body, most probably by Martin Walter, who was not unfamiliar with the Double Six chassis. It was registered 'GP4831' on July 1st 1931, the number the car carries to this date.
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