1967 Daimler 2.5 V8

Some cars come with little to no provenance… but this lovely Daimler V8 isn’t one of them, as vendor Julian Pritchard explains: “The car belonged to Sir Richard Attenborough, and he donated it to The Patrick Collection in the 1990s. His family had used it a family transport and it came to us when he bought a new car for his wife.”

You’ll find pictures of ‘Dickie’ handing over the keys on the day he dropped it off in the car’s history file, as well as a V5c document that shows the first registered keeper as ‘Richard Attenborough Productions Ltd’. H'e actually handing the keys to the vendors Uncle Alexander, the then Chairman of the collection.

“The car has been a museum display since we took ownership, with trips just for road testing and MoTs. It’s not perfect by any means (it wasn’t when it joined the museum), but it is very original and obviously has that lovely history.”

Although the Museum changed its name several times (from The Patrick Motor Museum to The Patrick Collection, for instance) the V5c document shows just two owners from new.

“The museum has long since closed and this is one of the last, non-Patrick family cars left in the collection. It’s being sold by our charitable foundation, The Patrick Foundation, which owns the vehicles within The Patrick Collection/The Patrick Motor Museum. We are retaining the cars with a connection to the family, but the rest have been sold.”

The Foundation’s decision to finally part with the Daimler means that this is an opportunity to buy both a lovely classic car, and a much-loved family transport that once belonged to filming royalty.

Okay, it’s the 1990s and you drive a well-looked after 1967 Daimler 250 V8 into a private collection. The result? Well, this. A time warp example of the model – it remains exactly as the Attenborough family used it.

Taking the car in is a visual pleasure; the Mk2/V8 shape is undoubtedly majestic, but this colour lifts it to new heights. It’s a car you’ll never tire of looking back at once you’ve parked up.

As Julian stated earlier, it’s not perfect but it does have a nicely lived patina; as such, you’ll find the odd paint flaw here (a couple of bubbles on the lower n/s wheel arch, for example), a scrape on a bumper edge there, and a few other bits and bobs (the upper windscreen chrome trim has come a bit loose). None of the above detracts from what remains a very smart example. Panel fit remains excellent and it appears nice and corrosion free (the paint has retreated from the very outer edges of the wheel arches, but these could be easily tidied up sympathetically and protected).

Sills, doors, wings, pillars, footwells and wheel arch well all appear solid. Brightwork, including that lovely fluted grille and wheel hub caps and surrounds, is generally good. We would however suggest that the new owner changes the tyres (or at the very least checks the date stamps), before using the car regularly.

Lovely.

Forget freshly restored interiors so new that they practically squeak even when you’re simply looking at them… in our eyes there’s no comparison whatsoever to a well patinated cabin, and especially with this generation of Daimler/Jag. The smell – oh Lord, the smell. It’s incredible. You’re instantly transported back to the swinging Sixties, images of London, the high-life and the glitterati flooding your brain.

The leather seats have a well-used and charming character, while it’s clear that the rear seats have seen considerably less action. Carpets are excellent, as are all the walnut wood veneers; the car’s time in the collection has ensured that the cabin has remained in this lovely condition. Up top, the headlining is clean and there are minimal marks to the dashboard, door cards and other areas that can experience high levels of wear.

All that’s left is to sit back, imagine ‘Dickie’ or his good lady at the wheel, fire up the V8 and off you go.

“It sounds great and drive very smoothly,” says Julian. “The brakes are as you’d expect for the age. It ticks along at 60mph on the motorway without much trouble and is a pleasure to drive.”

We agree, it appears to be mechanically spot on and drives very nicely. Like any classic that’s not seen a lot of action in recent years you should figure in a touch of re-commissioning if it’s going to be used regularly going forwards (gaskets and the like), but the care and attention it’s received in the various Patrick collections means that it still presents and drives just as it did when Sir Richard dropped the car off.

Pop the bonnet and you’ll find a nice and tidy engine bay, dominated up top by that twin prong circular air intake – which gives the V8 a very pleasant intake noise on the hoof. Fluids are fresh and up to level, and nothing appears to need imminent attention. The under-bonnet sound deadening/heat insulation is a bit tatty in places, though.

Lifting the carpet in the boot and removing all the paraphernalia (spare wheel, almost complete original tool set and various spare parts) reveals body coloured metal fee from corrosion, which is indicative of the car’s condition. That’s continued underneath the Daimler, which presents as similarly solid and well-protected.

There’s a lovey spread of photographs showing Sir Richard Attenborough with the car (then baring its original registration ‘DYL111’); these have him handing over the keys, being shown around the museum and sitting perched on the driver’s seat with his distinctive rum smile firmly in place.

In addition to this, you’ll find expired MoT test certificates aplenty, the V5c document and a handful of invoices. The Daimler V8 250 handbook is present and there’s a recent RAC Vehicle History Check (19th May 2022), which shows no alerts on the vehicle.

Finally, there are also some Patrick Collection descriptors for the V8 250.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of the paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a lovely standard.

Compared to the Jaguar Mk2, the Daimler V8 has provided a bit of a classic car bargain for several decades now and this example is no different. Even with its lovely history we think it’ll realise somewhere between £14,000 and £19,000.

So, to that history. There’s no circa. £50k uplift here, as there often is with say an ex-Beatle member’s car. This Daimler’s past is just a lovely incidental and as such it’d quite happily slot into another museum, or private collection – whether that’s related to famous owners or not. To that, add the fact that it’d also make an individual a very lovely, patinated and original classic for tootling around in; imagine popping along to a show, parking up and propping a blown-up picture of ‘Dickie’ with the keys next to the car. It’d keep you in conversation for the rest of your life.

We estimate it’ll sell for between £14,000 - £19,000.

That’s guaranteed, as is the fact that you’ll be provided with a restful, elegant, and smooth mode of classic transport. And boy, in its light blue hue, doesn’t it look good to boot?

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car is located at The Market’s Abingdon HQ; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.