1952 Daimler DH27 Hooper Limousine

Description

With a long and proud tradition of building some of the finest cars in Britain, The Daimler Company Limited was founded in 1896 and enjoyed the patronage of the Royal Family for the first half of the 20th Century.  Daimler began building a series of smaller, more affordable models alongside its big straight eights, starting with the medium-sized Fifteen of September 1932, the first design to break away from the previous sleeve-valve technology in over two decades.  When production resumed after the Second World War, three distinct models were available with the smallest being the six-cylinder DB18 and Consort and the largest the straight-eight DE36.  Neatly bridging the gap, the DE27 entered production in 1946 with the well-proven 4-litre in-line six-cylinder motor under the bonnet and despite being the mid-range model, was still built on a massive chassis frame that dwarfed most contemporary cars.  An innovative feature was the first use of the Girling Hydro-mechanical braking system with servo assistance and every DE27 chassis was coachbuilt to suit the customer’s choice by the likes of Hooper, Windovers and others.  Famous DE27 owners included Queen Mary, who took delivery of a special limousine by Hooper in June 1947, and a number were sold the Nawanagar family of India, two of them uniquely badged as Lanchesters.  Alongside the DC27 ambulance variant, Daimler also built a small number of identical limousines for Daimler Hire Ltd, purpose built for the luxury end of the hire car trade.  Badged the DH27, all 50 made wore identical coachwork by Hooper & Co. of London, who famously clothed Lady Docker’s extravagant series of show cars known as the ‘Docker Daimlers’.  Today, these elegant cars are an attractive proposition for the enthusiast of high quality, coachbuilt British luxury cars and a great alternative to rivals from Bentley, Lagonda and Alvis.