daimler is not so much mercedes benz as it is jaguar. the double six (a V12) is one of my favorites not to mention the later models that resembled the XJ6. daimler is one of britain’s oldest marques and has a history stretching back to the dawn of the automobile.

“their very first cars were built under license from gottlieb daimler and quickly became official transportation for british royalty. fit for kings, daimlers were well appointed, and this reputation was enhanced in 1909 with the adoption of sleeve valves. the double six is named after a taxable RAC rating of 50 hp, but the modern rating is somewhere between 130-150 bhp. less then 10 cars were ordered with the Double Six 50 engine. Despite offering numerous models and having royal support, daimler wanted to take an extra step after rolls-royce released their feature-rich phantom in 1925. to stay competitive, chief engineer laurence pomeroy decided to make the most of daimler’s engineering and adopt sleeve valves in a new seven liter ‘double six’ V12. to do so, he mated two existing 6-cylinder, 25/85 hp engines to a common aluminum crankcase and refined the sleeves to reduce oil consumption. the few cars released became collectors. for decades one of the few remaining models was retained by a single family which clung onto their prize possession. for a purchase price upwards up $5,000,000, RM restorations secured the car and finished an immaculate restoration for its next owner robert lee. lucky man he is”. by dd