2006 Daimler Super Eight

It’s a known fact that quite a few of the 731 Daimler Super Eights to leave Browns Lane went on to dutifully serve the needs of senior figures in government and the Civil Service - people with dark suits and serious expressions from The Ministry of Something Tremendously Important or Awfully Secret.

Others followed the well-trodden path of many previous Daimlers and made their way to garages belonging to the Royal household.

It is the vendor’s understanding that, at one time, this car was indeed part of the Royal car-pool.

Firstly, it was serviced by a Jaguar main dealer in Norwich for the first few years of its life.

Sandringham is near Norwich.

Just saying…

Secondly, the vendor is in the licensed trade and bought the car from a brewery with long-standing Royal connections.

At the time of writing, all of this supposed Royal provenance is little more than conjecture and speculation.

If and when we know more, we’ll be sure to let you know.

What we can say with some certainty is that this car is in very good overall condition and comes equipped with just about every extra to be found in the Jaguar options list.

The car is black with a cream leather interior.

It is a very low ownership example, has covered 84,010 miles from new and, among many other bits and pieces, comes with dual-zone AC/climate control, privacy blinds, rear TV, all-electric rear seats, and radar. Recently replaced items include the headlining and 8 new parking sensors.

We have driven the car and can attest to its almost Jekyll and Hyde-like combination of abilities.

It wafts and shimmies like a magic carpet over the potholed unpleasantness and ‘traffic calming’ monstrosities that now litter most British roads.

Its road manners are impeccable and it offers a ride quality that is almost certainly smoother and more refined than a lightly Brylcreemed otter.

We think you could run over a fairly corpulent peasant in this without even noticing.

And the peasant would probably thank you for choosing him as you progressed majestically on your way.

Should you feel the need to flex your right ankle, however, it will respond promptly with a throaty, guttural roar before setting off towards the horizon like a nervous cheetah at a fireworks display.

Like we said, it’s a bit Jekyll and Hyde.

But in a really good way.
 

The aluminium bodywork, you’ll be glad to hear, is free of any dinks, dents, creases or ripples of any consequence that we can see.

The shut-lines and panel gaps are crisp, consistent and even.

The car’s black paintwork has held up pretty well, too, and there’s a good deal of shine and lustre left in the finish.

That said, there are a couple of flat-ish spots here and there plus a scattering of thin scratches, so it’s probably fair to say that the car would benefit from a good machine polish.

There is some nascent blistering and bubbling under the paint at the base of the n/s/f wing and the wheel-arch ahead of it.

The car’s front valance is a tad loose at its offside junction with the bodywork, and there’s a chunk of yellow plastic missing from the reflector lens adjacent to it.

We found a spot of blistered paint at the corner of the driver’s door next to the mirror which, incidentally, has lost its ‘power fold’ function but is otherwise fine.

There’s also some blistering under the black paint on the trim running around the top of the o/s/r window.

Elsewhere, the alloy trim running around the windows has become a little mottled.

There are a few stone chips and scuffs along the rear bumper and on the boot lid just above the chrome strip. There are one or two noticeable scratches on the roof.

The wheels are in very decent fettle and all 5 Pirelli P600 tyres look to have a decent amount of life left in them.  

Beyond anything described above, the car has a number and distribution of stone chips and light scratches that are entirely commensurate with its age and mileage.
 

Very few manufacturers come close to matching the classy, elegant interiors offered by Jaguar at their best. Pretty much everything in the gentlemen’s club-like interior is in very good order. The brown carpets are in excellent condition and the over-rugs are of a thickness sufficient to convince your ankles that your feet have been stolen.

The wood veneers on the dashboard, door cappings, centre console and elsewhere wouldn’t look out of place on a Sheraton table. Save for a little fading under the lacquer at the top of the door cappings and a slightly detached fascia on the overhead control panel, they’re all in very decent nick. The seats are comfortable, supportive and fully functional, front and back.

There’s more cream-coloured hide in here than you’d find at a Jersey cattle market. All of it is supple, rich and welcoming. Yes, the driver’s seat has a little light creasing around the bolsters, but haven’t we all? The door cards are good. The (brand-new) headlining is good. The inside of the boot is good, bar a few light stains to the carpet.

As far as we and the vendor are aware, all dials, knobs, switches, buttons, dials, gauges and levers do as they’re told promptly, accurately and without dissent.
 

There’s not much to see in here, thanks to all manner of cowls and covers, but everything appears to be present, correct and in the right place.

The car’s undersides have given us no real reason to frown or tut and everything we can see looks sound, solid and possessed of a decent amount of structural integrity, although there is a little corrosion visible in the front sub-frame.
 

There’s not a great deal by way of history with the car, but it does come with a service book (four main dealer stamps, one independent) that charts its care and curation up until 43,350 miles.

The car comes with its original Daimler wallet and manuals, full sets of keys, a recent HPI report, a V5C and an MoT certificate that’s valid until 12.8.26. 
 

Jaguar doesn’t make them like this any more and there’s a more than reasonable chance that they never will.

If you want something to transport you across continents and leave you feeling as fresh as a daisy when you reach your destination, there are, of course, other cars that can do that.

Similarly, there are other saloon cars that pull like the Flying Scotsman and can out-accelerate things with rather more obvious sporting pretensions.

But the Daimler Super Eight is equally adept in either situation and that really does make it the best of both worlds…and a very rare beast indeed.

One thing’s for sure – the winning bidder will be getting a whole lot of car for a great deal less than it would have cost its first owner.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £16,000 - £20,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.