Lot Ended
Description
Super-looking SWB Sovereign; lovely paint and chrome; retrimmed
interior; driven 50 miles to the sale; a gleaming example of what was once
the world's finest sporting saloon
“From our
company chauffeur to our most blasé tester, everyone was impressed immediately
with the completely out-of-its-class ride and silence. It is the smoothest and
quietest car we have ever driven or been driven in… The handling is better than
that of the E-Type… Dynamically it has no equal regardless of price… If Jaguar
were to double the price of the XJ6 and bill it as the best car in the world, we
would be right there behind them” – Autocar, June
1969.
The Jaguar XJ6 was a revelation when it was
launched in 1968 and the upmarket Daimler version was equally good, the only
real difference being the larger chrome radiator grille, the chrome strip that
ran up the centre of the bonnet and the Daimler-badged steering wheel.
Retrospectively known as the Series One, it was
replaced by the Series Two in late 1973 but this was not quite the same. Build
quality went down, the front bumper went up, the radiator grille shrank and the
bank of lovely Bakelite rocker switches on the dash were replaced by cheap
plastic buttons.
First registered in London in
May 1973, this Daimler Sovereign Series One is the desirable SWB version (the
LWB only had an extra 4” of cabin length but it just didn’t look as good). Sadly
there is no real history with the car but it has clearly been restored at some
point in the not-too-distant past with gleaming dark blue paintwork, excellent
chrome and a retrimmed beige leather interior.
An
invoice from June 2010 shows that it got a reconditioned steering rack, new
track rod ends, new rear wheel bearings and some localised repairs to the front
and rear n/s inner wings, the mileage at this point being 71,040. Another
invoice shows that it was serviced in June this year at 75,500 miles (oil and
filter; air filter; spark plugs etc) and it has only covered 250 miles
since.
Driven some 50 miles to the sale, it has
been starting promptly and running well as we have moved it around on site, with
good 40psi oil pressure and all the electric windows working as they should.
As you can see in the photos, this Sovereign S1
looks most attractive and will turn heads wherever it
goes.
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970
309907 – [email protected]