Justin Jurgens | August 21, 2013
We recently had the pleasure of test driving a 1961 Daimler SP250 (Dart)—a very British car that few know about. The Daimler Dart was produced from 1959-1964 and featured a fiberglass body, 4-wheel disc brakes, and a Hemi V8. These are very cool cars when you consider the era in which they were produced. I’m sure they surprised quite a few people back in the day with their sleeper looks and massive performance. It really makes you step back when you open the bonnet and see that beautiful V8 wedged in there.
When we first started this car, we were taken by the unbelievable sound the engine puts out. It is only a small V8 that is 2,500cc, but it sure makes a very crisp and distinct V8 sound. Driving down the road, the car is very comfortable, like you could take it on a long drive and not worry about fatigue. But the most impressive thing about this car is its performance. Weighing just over 2,000 pounds and producing over 140 BHP, these cars really get up and go, and can accelerate from 0-60 in under nine seconds. By today’s standards, that’s nothing to write about, but in 1959 when the Daimler was first introduced, this was very quick; so quick that many were used by police departments in the UK.
The car handles very well, but again you have to remember that this is a classic car and will never handle like a modern car. That said, the Dart is one of the nicest handling and best driving classic British cars we have ever driven. The car has a very sturdy feel to it and hugs the turns very nicely, accelerating rapidly with that awesome V8 under the bonnet. Braking is fantastic with 4-wheel disc brakes which Daimler was way ahead of its time with. I cannot think of any other car manufacturers of this era that were using 4-wheel disc brakes on production cars, at least in 1959 when the car was released. All in all the Daimler SP250 (Dart) is a fantastic British car that was way ahead of its time. I have to say that if the styling had been a little better, I think these cars would have been a huge success as they perform very well and are terrific cars to drive. However, they were nicknamed “the Catfish” for obvious reasons, and just 2,645 were produced. I sure wish we saw more of these cool cars around today, but many have now been wrecked and scrapped, leaving very few in existence.