1986 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 inline-six Jaguar XK engine inside the vehicle. The DS420 was built on the floorpan 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 DS420 is white. While the exterior appears clean after an initial look, a second look reveals a few places with flaws. There are chips in the paint between the edges of the hood and the body of the car, the rear bumper has a section on the passenger half that will need to be rechromed, in front of the rear wheel on the passenger side there is some bubbling in the paint and on the rear door, and a handful more chips in the gap between trunk and body of the car. The rest of the chrome around the car is straight and free of wrinkles. Each glass piece is clean and free of cracks or chips. The hubcaps are free of marks and curb rash, and while the tires do seem to have a decent amount of tread left, a new set is always recommended.

The interior of this DS420 was completed using gray leather. For the most part, that gray leather has held up nicely as the interior appears to be in good condition. The front seats show no signs of creasing at all. Carpets throughout the whole car are clean and undamaged, the only ones that are having issues laying flat are the front floormats, which seem to be having issues flopping back down from the top. For the driver’s footwell, this is all bunching up around the pedals so be mindful. The door panels are profoundly simple in design, and as a result both the front and back door panels look totally untouched. The wooden inlays around the entire interior are in phenomenal shape. They appear as if they’re still dripping with varnish and show no major damage. The gauges mounted within the dashboard are all clean and easily readable. It appears that the seller or a previous owner installed an aftermarket stereo for additional creature comforts inside the luxury behemoth. The center console is in decent shape although it seems that one of the pieces to the air vents has been snapped out of place. Up above, the brown headliner is free stains and hangs tightly in place, as do both of the sunshades. In the rear compartment, the foldable seats work as intended, and the rear bench mirrors the condition of the front seat showing very little creasing at all. The car’s odometer says 8 miles. That might be hard to believe, but the quality of the interior certainly reinforces that claim.

This DS420 is powered by a Jaguar XK inline-six engine mated to an automatic transmission.

Based upon the documents available to us, we gather that the seller acquired this Daimler in May of 2013.

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 some bumps around the exterior that may require some attention, but it also has a wonderfully preserved, lightly used interior. Estimated $4,000 - $6,000.

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’.

Due to California emissions laws, please note that this vehicle may only be sold to an out-of-state resident for use outside of California or to a licensed automotive dealer.

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