1992 Daimler DS420

Jaguar handled the engineering, giving the DS420 the engine, transmission, and suspension from the Jaguar 420G. The car was produced at Austin’s Vanden Plas factory in Kingsbury. D stands for Daimler, S was part of an alphabetical naming scheme sequence, (previous car being the DR,) and 420 referred to the 4.2L Jaguar XK engine inside the vehicle. The DS420 was built on the floor pan of the Jaguar 420G, though for the Daimler, the wheelbase was elongated by an extra 21 inches. The front features the traditional Daimler fluted grille and headlights from the Jaguar 420G. The car also featured the same twin ten-gallon fuel tanks from the 420G as well. Smaller than the competing Rolls-Royce Phantom of the time in every aspect, the Daimler DS420 came under half the price of the Rolls.

This Daimler’s exterior was painted in a deep navy blue. The outside of the car is rough, but far from unsalvageable. The most glaring issue when looking at the car is the clearcoat, which has failed over the years. This has resulted in several areas where the paint has faded and no longer matches the car. The paint has faded in the following areas on the driver’s side of the vehicle: under the headlight, on top of the front quarter panel, on the roof above both doors, the rear quarter panel, and the driver’s half of the trunk. While fading is abundant, in the grand scheme of things it will not be all that costly to deal with. Equally concerning yet less abundant, are the areas where corrosion appears. There is visible corrosion and bubbling in the paint on the hood of the car. Bubbling also appears in two places on the driver’s door. Corrosion obviously raises red flags, but a look around underneath the vehicle proves that things are not as grim as they appear on this Daimler. All glass around the car is clean and free of cracks, and the wheels and hubcaps are in decent shape though we always recommend a new set of tires.

The front seats of the car were done in navy blue leather, and the back seat is blue velour. Starting up front, condition in the driver’s compartment overall is pleasant. The front seats show signs of light creasing, but no tears or holes have formed. Carpets fit neatly into position in each of the footwells and show no damage either. The center console and dashboard are clean, and all of the mounted gauges are clear and easily readable. The driver’s door panel does have a scuff in it, and the headliner above does have two or three stains, but those are likely easy fixes. Moving to the rear compartment, the good quality continues. The two-tone door panels and wooden inlays are clean and free of marks. Thick blue carpeting was likely thrown in along the way to protect the original floor mats. While it is doing an amazing job of protecting the originals, it doesn’t always fit properly and can be dragged out of place quite easily. Fortunately, that is where the flaws end. The fold out seats operate correctly and are intact, and the blue velour rear bench is in good condition as well. The wooden cabinet and remaining inlays are free of chips and scratches. We are unsure if the curtains in the rear are electrically powered or not, but the curtains themselves are clean and free of imperfections. Overall, we are pleased to see that none of the exterior imperfections have affected the interior quality.

The underside of this Daimler DS420 harbors no major damage. There is a fair amount of surface corrosion present, but nothing come close to actively decaying. Surface corrosion is at his heaviest at the front of the car and occurs mostly around the suspension components. The frame and floorboards are solid, and the suspension systems, while dirty, appear to be uncompromised.

Not much is known about this car’s travels, but the documents we do have tell us that the car was registered in Swanley, England in 1992. The seller purchased the car from England in 1998, and has had it on static display ever since, which explains why the odometer sits at only 30,451 miles after 30 years of existence.

The Daimler DS420 is one of the most officially used cars in human history. It has a glorious reputation for its safety and ability to carry large groups of people in total comfort. This particular example has a rough exterior that will require some attention, but it also has a wonderfully preserved, lightly used interior as well that needs almost no work. We believe the car would be ready to compete once the exterior is addressed and for that reason, we are highly confident that this DS420 will earn it’s $4,000 - $8,000 estimate.

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL BIDDERS

It should be noted that this vehicle has been on static display for a number of years and there is no history available beyond that displayed in our photography section.

We have not started or driven the car so cannot vouch for its mechanical viability or functionality. It will require recommissioning prior to road use and is sold ‘as seen’.



Please note that the title for this vehicle is in transit.