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Daimler Regency and Empress Mark II
[[File:Daimler|frameless|upright=1.25|alt=]]
Regency Empress Mark II, body by Hooper
on the Regency chassis this body has a triangular window behind the back door
Manufacturer The Daimler Motor Company Limited
Production 1951–1956
Predecessor Daimler Consort
Successor Daimler One-O-Four
Body style(s) Four-door saloon bodies
by Barker or Empress by Hooper
Special Sports convertible by Barker
Engine(s) 2952, 3468 or 4617 cc inline six-cylinder
Transmission(s) 4-speed preselector gearbox with fluid flywheel
Wheelbase 114 in (2,896 mm) [1]
Length 195 in (4,953 mm) [1]
Width 70 in (1,778 mm) [1]
Height 62.5 in (1,588 mm) [1]

The Daimler Regency was a luxury car made in Coventry by The Daimler Motor Company Limited between 1951 and 1956. Announced at the October 1951 Motor Show,[2] it was a 3-litre derivative of the 2½-litre Eighteen Consort. Only 52 examples of the first Regency were made[3] in the twelve months before production stopped.[4] Almost two years later a lengthened more powerful Regency Mark II was announced but, in turn, attracted few customers.

Market placement review[]

There were two standard Daimler-bodied versions, the short-lived Regency and the revised Regency labelled Mark II announced in October 1954. Daimler Empress Mark II, bodied by Hooper, was the catalogued super-luxury owner-driver or limousine variant on the Regency Mark II chassis.

Slightly longer with a much longer boot and mudguards and lower-set the standard Daimler body could now be purchased with a 3½-litre or 4½-litre engine. The (at first) 4½-litre Sportsman was to be announced a few days later[5]

Introductory pricing including tax: 3½-litre / 4½-litre engine
Regency Mark II saloon: £2,324 / £2,778 with the new Tubeless Tyres fitted as standard equipment
Regency Sportsman saloon: £2,650 / £3,104[6]

Straight-Eight production had ended in 1953. Its former position was thought to have been finally covered when the two bigger engines were announced for the Regency Mark II.[3]

The Regency Mark II was little more successfuI and was superseded in late 1955 by the 3½-litre One-O-Four which was one again little more than a variant with a more powerful engine.[3][7] The bigger engine went to the new Daimler Regina or DK400.[3]

Engine and transmission[]

The range was launched with a six-cylinder 3-litre (2952 cc) 90 bhp engine. This was supplemented in 1952 by an enlarged 3468 cc version. The Regency II had a choice of the 3468 cc or larger 4617 cc six. All these engines were based on the same basic design seen previously as a four-cylinder in the Lanchester 14.

A pre-selector 4-speed gearbox was fitted coupled to the engine by Fluid Flywheel.

Chassis, and running gear[]

The chassis was made of box section steel and was cruciform braced going over the rear axle. The suspension was independent at the front using coil springs but retained traditional leaf springs and live axle at the rear.

Automatic chassis lubrication was fitted, operating "thermostatically every time the engine warm(ed) up", and the propeller-shaft centre bearing was "prepacked with grease" so did not require lubrication.[8] However, the propeller shaft itself was not served by the system and four grease points required "attention every 1,000 miles".[8]

The brakes on the Regency were a Girling hydro-mechanical hybrid but this changed to fully hydraulic set up on the Regency II

Worm and double roller steering was used.

Coachwork[]

Daimler Sportsman sports saloon 5918246896 8e5a6cdd64 o

Sportsman 3348cc 1957 example

Daimler 1957

Sportsman 3468cc 1957 example

The standard body for the Regency was a four-door, six-light (3 windows down each side) saloon made by Barker, who were Daimler owned. In 1952 it was joined by a convertible and the Empress II with razor-edge styling by Hooper. Only a small number of convertible Regency Barker Special Sports were made, perhaps three. They were externally distinguished by having front-hinged doors, not the "suicide doors" of the smaller-engined version.

The bodywork on the Regency II was stylistically very similar to the earlier car but with a longer tail allowing a larger boot. Again there was a Hooper version, the Empress IIa and III but now also the Sportsman four-light saloon with coachwork by Mulliners (Birmingham).[9]

Performance[]

The British Motor magazine tested a 3468 cc Regency II saloon in 1955 recording a top speed of 82.8 mph (133.3 km/h) and acceleration from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 22.7 seconds and a fuel consumption of 15.7 miles per imperial gallon (18.0 L/100 km/13.1 mpg-US). The test car cost £2324 including taxes.[1]

Commercial[]

A spacious interior married with "an abundance of polished hardwood, not only for the facia but also for the door cappings, a floor .... covered with thick pile carpet" and the car's driving qualities will have attracted admiration, but purchase tax on cars was high and in 1954 the UK manufacturer-recommended retail price, including tax, for the standard bodied 3½-litre Daimler Conquest was £2,324.[10] That price included a heater, but customer requiring a radio to be fitted would need to find another £48.[10] In the same year Jaguar's recommended UK retail price for the similarly sized (and very effectively promoted) Mark VII was £1,680.[11] (Jaguar buyers also received the heater included in the price, though they were obliged to find an extra £50 for a radio.) The price differential is probably enough to explain why relatively few Daimler Regencys found buyers.

Silver Flash[]

Lady Docker's October 1953 Earls Court Motor Show car, Silver Flash, was a metallic-silver two-seater two-door fixed-head coupé on the 3-litre Regency chassis. Alloy panelled with a large 'Sundym' glass panel in the roof the green leather seats were piped in red. The usual vanity drawer with silver accessories slid out from below the dashboard. Dashboard and door cappings were red crocodile leather as were the two fitted suitcase behind the seats. A pair of fins decorated the long tail. The car was finished in green. The green clashed with the interior trim so 48 hours before the show was to open she telephoned the designer, Osmond Rivers, to tell him to respray the car in metallic silver. The name Silver Flash was inspired by the famous BSA Golden Flash motorcycle. Somehow it won no prize in the coachwork competition run at the Show. The new Conquest roadster took second place in the coachwork competition.[3]

External links[]

References[]

Smallwikipedialogo This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Daimler Regency. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Tractor & Construction Plant Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons by Attribution License and/or GNU Free Documentation License. Please check page history for when the original article was copied to Wikia


  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "The 3.5-litre Daimler Regency Mk II Saloon", The Motor. January 19, 1955. 
  2. The Motor Show.The Times, Wednesday, Oct 17, 1951; pg. 4; Issue 52134
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lord Montagu and David Burgess-Wise Daimler Century ; Stephens 1995 ISBN 1-85260-494-8
  4. Daimler Car Cheaper Until Budget Day; Production of the new 3-litre model has been postponed until after the Budget.The Times, Tuesday, Feb 03, 1953; pg. 3; Issue 52536.
  5. Display advertisement, Daimler. The Times, Monday, Oct 04, 1954; pg. 5; Issue 53053.
  6. New Daimler Models. The Times, Thursday, Sep 30, 1954; pg. 3; Issue 53050
  7. New Standard Vanguard.The Times, Friday, Oct 14, 1955; pg. 4; Issue 53351
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Daimler Regency Mark II 3½-litre", Autocar. October 1, 1954 "To reduce the need for maintenance, automatic chassis lubrication is provided thermostatically every time the engine warms up. The propeller-shaft is not served by this system, and four points require attention every 1,000 miles (1609 km). The propeller-shaft bearing, however, is prepacked with grease and does not require lubrication.". 
  9. New Big Daimler Models. "The Motor" Vol 106, October 6 1954
  10. 10.0 10.1 "Daimler Regency Mark II 3½-litre", Autocar. October 1, 1954. 
  11. "Jaguar Mark VII saloon (with overdrive) (road test)", Autocar. January 15, 1954. 
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