1947 Daimler DE27 Windovers Saloon

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 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 offered here 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 and Vanden Plas bodywork.  There were even ambulances (DC27) and limousines (DH27) built for Daimler Hire Ltd.   Given the size and weight, the DE27 had surprisingly good acceleration and a top speed of around 80 mph but very few were completed – best estimates suggest a little over 200 were built from 1946-1949.  Today, these elegant Daimlers 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.