By 1973, the Jaguar XJ was five years old. It was still a very good product but Jaguar gave it a bit of an update in the form of the Series 2 model with a shallower grille and a higher-mounted front bumper. There were no major engine changes - the XK straight six was still going strong and the magnificent 5.3-litre V12 was almost brand new. I saw this Series 2 at the British Motor Museum last year.
In 1968, with the formation of British Leyland, for the second time in a decade, a merger brought a lightweight aluminium alloy V8 engine under the same corporate roof as Jaguar - in the form of the Rover (originally Buick) V8. As we have seen, the first time this happened, Jaguar found a place for Daimler’s V8 in the Mk2 saloon. But its attitude to the Rover V8 was very different. Rover P6 3500 V8 seen at the 2025 Practical Classics resto show
For #Caturday, a (rebadged) Jaguar. By the time the XJ6 arrived, every post-war Jaguar with the exception of the badge-engineered Daimler V8 had been fitted with the XK straight six, which became a defining Jag feature. But V engines appeared in the XJ in 1972 with the 5.3-litre V12 XJ12. On a telling note, the Daimler version seen here at The Great British Car Journey in 2023 was badged ‘double six’, emphasising that straight six XK heritage.
In 1968 Jaguar replaced all four of its saloon models, including the recently featured Mk2, with the XJ6. All XJ6s used the Jaguar XK straight six engine in new 2.8 and 4.2-litre sizes. That included the Daimler badged version, the Daimler Sovereign. But while the Daimler V8 was now off the menu, as we shall see tomorrow, ‘V’ engines would soon become part of the story again. I snapped this beautiful XJ6 at the British Motor Museum in 2023.
A few days ago, I mentioned that the SP250 roadster was the last independently designed Daimler before the company was taken over by Jaguar. But in 1962, its 2.5-litre V8 engine was combined with the Jag Mk2 body to produce the Daimler 2.5 V8 saloon. Note the Daimler badging and special fluted grille. The lighter Daimler engine was said to improve the Mk2’s handling. Pics taken - British Motor Museum, 2023. (1/2)
In 1959, the Jaguar 2.4/3.4-litre saloon featured yesterday was replaced by the revamped Mk2 saloon. The 2.4 and 3.4 XK straight six engines were carried over but joined by a larger 3.8. The glass area was significantly increased. Favoured by bank robbers - at least by reputation. I saw this magnificent 3.8 at the British Motor Museum in 2023.
I’ll return to the subject of Daimler’s integration into Jaguar in a couple of days’ time but first I need to set the scene with some Jags. First, this 1958 3.4-litre saloon, an upgrade of the 1955 2.4-litre saloon, which, like yesterday’s E-Type, used Jaguar’s legendary twin-cam straight-six XK engine (third photo). This car, seen at the British Motor Museum, once belonged to the father of the racing driver and journalist Paul Frère.
Yesterday’s Daimler SP250 was a fascinating machine but never a big hit. One reason was that in 1960, Daimler was sold by its then owner Birmingham Small Arms to Jaguar, bringing the SP250 under the same corporate roof as the impossibly glamorous 1961 E-Type, seen here in early Series 1 form at the British Motor Museum. The SP250, the last independently developed Daimler, bowed out in 1964.
Today, a car with an interesting connection to the recently featured Reliant Scimitars. This is a 1959 prototype for the Daimler SP250, a GRP-bodied roadster with a 2.5-litre V8. In 1962, the design house Ogle proposed a new body for the SP250, the SX250 concept. This was instead taken up by Reliant, using the chassis of its Sabre model, to produce the Scimitar SE4 I posted recently. This SP250 was snapped at the British Motor Museum in 2023.
For #Caturday, a Kitten. I thought I’d round off this week of Reliants with this, the Kitten, a four-wheeled version of the famous Robin three-wheeler, which was introduced in 1975. I saw this one at last month’s Practical Classics resto show.
David Wilkins