The Daimler SP250 – An Ex-British Police High-Speed Pursuit Car

The Daimler SP250 is a V8-powered British sports car famous for a number of things in classic car circles, the three most common of which are that the car is powered by an excellent 2.5 liter V8 engine, it was used by some British metropolitan police departments as a high speed pursuit vehicle, and that it’s widely considered to be as ugly as a wheelie bin full of dead badgers.

Before the irate all-caps emails begin let me just say – when it comes to aesthetic sensibilities everyone has their own personal tastes, and it should be noted that there are many in the classic car world who love the SP250’s unusually styled fiberglass body. Jay Leno is one of them.

Fast Facts – Daimler SP250

• A number of Daimler SP250s were bought by British police departments to help combat speeding drivers, and in particular speeding motorcyclists on their “cafe racers.”
• The SP250 has been likened to a British Corvette as it has a steel chassis with a convertible fiberglass body and a V8 engine under the hood.
• Jay Leno owns an SP250 and he’s famously a big fan of the model, particularly its hemi V8 engine.
• Daimler developed the car in the late 1950s and released it in 1959, it was then sold until 1964.
• The SP250 was introduced in the United States at the 1959 New York Motor Show, where it was immediately voted the ugliest car at the show.

The Daimler SP250 – An Acquired Taste

The Daimler SP250 was developed by the British automaker specifically to increase sales in the United States. The 1950s was characterized by “Jet Age” automobile styling, particularly in America, and so the SP250 was given ample rear fins and plenty of chrome elements.

Above Image: Jay Leno is the Daimler SP250’s most famous fan, he restored one with his team a few years ago and in the above episode he sings the praises of the unusual car.

The SP250 was the first proper sports car developed by Daimler and this lack of experience was apparent in the first series of cars, now retroactively referred to as the A-spec vehicles. The 14 gauge steel ladder frame chassis with cruciform bracing was too flexible for sporting driving, and doors were known to fly open when cornering at speed.

The concept of a fiberglass body was relatively new at the time, though the Chevrolet Corvette had been using the same material since it was introduced in 1953 and British automakers like Jensen were using it extensively.

Although we can never know for sure, it’s likely that if the Daimler SP250 had more universally popular styling it likely would have enjoyed strong sales in the United States, and it may have avoided the offloading of Daimler by its parent company BSA to Jaguar in 1960.

That said, the Jaguar acquisition was actually good news for the little Daimler sports car. Jaguar engineers were among the best sports car designers in the world with multiple 24 Hours of Le Mans wins under their belt. After the Daimler was acquired those same Jaguar engineers set about designing the chassis and developing the B-spec version.

The B-spec Daimler SP250 handles like an entirely different car thanks to the changes made to stiffen the chassis, extra outriggers and a strengthening hoop between the A-posts was added, the difference was considerable but by this time the car already had its reputation.

The unusual front end of the SP250 probably offers good aerodynamics, however many find it aesthetically challenged.

A C-spec version of the car was released in 1963 with a few small upgrades but by this time it was clear that the SP250’s days were numbered. Sales were slow, and the Jaguar E-Type had been released in 1961 which was proving to be a huge sales success for the company.

Jaguar did develop some prototypes of the Daimler SP252 with some E-Type styling cues included, however the car never made it into production, and SP250 production ceased in 1964 with just 2,654 built – far shy of the original projections of 3,000 per year.

This wasn’t the end of the road for that hemi-head V8 used in the SP250 though, it was fitted to the Daimler 2.5 V8, a four-door sports saloon car directly based on the popular Jaguar Mark 2.

The Ex-British Police High Speed Pursuit Car Shown Here

The car you see here is one of just 26 or so examples that were bought by police departments in the United Kingdom and used as high speed pursuit vehicles. These cars quickly entered into automotive legend thanks to their top speed of 125 mph, a remarkable figure for the era, and their ability to catch and arrest speeding cafe racers.

Police used their SP250s extensively, some cars were used 18 to 24 hours a day.

Many British police were assigned Wolseley saloons, exceptionally slow cars that didn’t have a hope of running down speeding motorcyclists. The cafe racer movement started in England in the late 1950s, young men would buy motorcycles and tune them for speed. Illegal street races were held from places like the Ace Cafe in London, many young people died and the general public were demanding that something be done.

As a result, somewhere between 26 and 30 Daimler SP250s were bought and assigned to officers in problem areas. The cars were all fitted with three-speed automatic transmissions, as well as police lights, sirens, and badging.

The car you see here is known by its UK registration number of 550 CLU, it’s had a full nut and bolt restoration to Concours condition and it’s a multiple award winning vehicle. Interestingly this is also the car used as a model by Oxford for their 1/43rd scale model of the police edition of the SP250.

This car is due to roll across the auction block on the 13th of November with Silverstone Auctions, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Silverstone Auctions

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The Mighty Suzuki Jimny LJ80 – A Pint-Sized Japanese Off-Roader

It’s not that often we get a chance to feature a first generation Suzuki Jimny here on Silodrome, it seems that so few of them have been preserved and those that have rarely get sold.

The Jimny was Suzuki’s entry into the four-wheel drive market that first appeared in 1970, unlike the full-size Toyota Land Cruiser and Nissan Patrol the Jimny was designed to be a smaller class of vehicle to meet Japan’s Kei car regulations.

This smaller size and lighter weight made the Jimny an exceptionally useful four-wheel drive and it remains popular to this day, with the latest version reverting to more retro styling cues that have won it a new generation of fans around the world.

Fast Facts – The Suzuki Jimny

• The Suzuki Jimny originally started life as the HopeStar ON360, a small four-wheel drive developed by Japanese automaker Hope Motor Company. After they went bankrupt and were acquired by Suzuki.
• The official model name of the first Jimny was the Suzuki LJ10 (Light Jeep 10), this was followed by the LJ20, LJ50, LJ80, and so on, each denoting a larger more powerful engine.
• Each of the four generations of the Jimny have used body-on-chassis construction with live axles front and rear, selectable four-wheel drive with high and low-range, and a ruggedly simple drivetrain.
• The first generation was built from 1970 and replaced with the second generation version in 1981. First gen vehicles are a bit of a rarity now and they’re becoming highly collectible.

The Suzuki Jimny

In the late 1960s when Suzuki decided to launch a program to develop and build their own four-wheel drive vehicle they knew they needed to find a different approach to the likes of Toyota and Nissan.

The smaller form factor of the LJ80 means it can sometimes go places that larger, heavier four-wheel drives can’t.

The company bought a Steyr-Puch Haflinger, a pint-sized, cab-forward Austrian 4×4, and set about studying it to see what they could use.

Before they got too far with it, it was discovered that the Japanese automaker Hope Motor Company was going bankrupt, and they happened to have a small 4×4 in their model line up that had been developed but not put into full production yet called the HopeStar ON360.

Suzuki created their own version of the ON360 that was similarly designed to fall under Japan’s Kei class of vehicles, there are smaller automobiles and commercial vehicles with strict power restrictions that are given significant tax breaks.

The first Jimny that left the factory was the Suzuki LJ10 (Light Jeep 10) which was powered by an air-cooled 359cc two-cylinder two-stroke engine producing 25 bhp. When it was released in 1970 it was the first four-wheel drive Kei car to enter series production.

In 1972 the slightly more powerful LJ20 was released, followed by the LJ50 and then the LJ80 in 1977, known locally in Japan as the SJ20. The Suzuki LJ80 was powered by a more powerful 800cc four-stroke engine producing 42 hp. This additional power meant that the gearbox and final drive gearing could be increased to allow higher speeds in excess of 60 mph.

Over the course of its four generations the Jimny has been known by a number of names in different export markets, for example in Australia it was known as the Sierra, and specifications did vary for many export models.

This Jimny is powered by the original 42 hp 800cc four-stroke SOHC inline-four cylinder engine.

Suzuki is released the fourth generation Jimny in 2018 to almost universal praise, the styling of the new model was influenced by earlier iterations of the small 4×4 as well as industry classics like the Mercedes-Benz G Wagen and the original Land Rover Defender.

The Suzuki LJ80 Jimny Shown Here

The LJ80 you see here recently received a refurbishment before being shipped to the United States from Guatemala, where it doubtless had a very interesting life given the history of political upheaval in the small Central American nation.

Finished in Greek Yellow paintwork with black steel wheels and a black vinyl interior, it’s powered by the correct 42 hp 800cc four-stroke SOHC inline-four cylinder engine and power is sent from there to a 4-speed manual transmission. Both high and low-range is available of course, and power can be sent to either the rear wheels only or all four wheels.

We see very few of these on the road in the United States so this tidy looking LJ80 will likely attract a fair bit of attention. It’s currently for sale via live online auction with Collecting Cars, selling out of Accord, NY.

If you’d like to read more about this vehicle or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Collecting Cars

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Full Documentary: Rum Runner’s Paradise – Prohibition In The Pacific Northwest

Rum Runner’s Paradise is a full length feature documentary about the Prohibition era as seen through the eyes of the residents of the pacific northwest, particularly Washington State.

Spokane was ground zero for smuggling activities during the 18 years of Prohibition in Washington State thanks to its close proximity to the long and poorly guarded Canadian border.

Motorcycles, cars, boats, and even biplanes were used to get whisky into the United States, where it would be sold with eye-watering markups to a thirsty American populace.

This film was created by KSPS Public TV, a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station based in Spokane. The almost hour-long film starts out in the years before Prohibition, following the build up to the passing of the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920, ushering in the era of Prohibition.

Prohibition would be the law of the land for 13 years until the ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933 however some states kept the alcohol ban in place for a few years more. Washington State had passed their own anti-alcohol law at the end of 1915, not repealing it until 1933, meaning the state was dry for far longer than most.

Spokane was a hotbed of smuggling activity during Prohibition thanks to its proximity to the Canadian border, and the surrounding wilderness that was ideal for moonshiners.

Prohibition would be an era that would spawn a number of new classes of motor racing including stock car racing, NASCAR in particular. Rum runners would modify their cars to be as fast as possible in the hopes of outrunning the law, they started racing each other for fun, and today it’s a multi-billion dollar industry – ironically often sponsored by companies than make and sell alcohol.

This film is full of true stories from the era, remarkable tales of rum runners using any vehicle they could get their hands on including cars that ran on railway tracks.

In one incident, one of these modified cars collided with a train and had its cargo of whisky bottles scattered all over a field. Rumors of the accident spread to a nearby town and before the police arrived in the morning the field had been picked clean.

If you’d like to read more about Prohibition you can click here to visit the highly detailed Wikipedia page on the subject.

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The 1962 Martin Ford Special: 1 Of 5 Survivors – $8,200+ USD

If you’ve never seen a Martin Ford Special before it’s likely because of the 500 or so bodies originally built, just five are thought to have survived to the modern day. Despite the car’s rarity and unusual history it’s thought to be quite affordable, with a value of $8,200 to $10,900 USD.

The Martin Ford Special is one of those cars that appeared in the 1950s and 1960s to take advantage of the low cost and lightweight material called fiberglass for sports car construction. Many couldn’t afford to buy a new sports car, but they could afford to buy a regular used car and swap the heavy steel body for something much lighter and more aerodynamic.

Fast Facts – The Martin Ford Special

• The Martin Ford Special is built with a fiberglass body on a modified 1939 Ford Prefect chassis, it’s powered by a Ford 100E 1172cc sidevalve engine with twin SU carburetors.
• The body was designed and manufactured by Martin Plastics Maidstone Ltd, a company founded by Frederick E. Martin in 1953.
• It was one of the first companies in Britain to offer fiberglass bodies, likely inspired by similar businesses that were becoming popular across the Atlantic in the United States.
• With its low weight, small size, and simple mechanicals, the Martin Ford Special is a great example of the hand-built sports cars of the era.

The Martin Ford Special

The explosion in popularity of fiberglass in the years after WWII led to an entirely new automotive industry appearing almost overnight.

The good-looking body of the Martin Ford Special is a great example of the kind of custom car bodies being built in places like the UK and US from the 1950s onwards.

Before this time the art of coachbuilding required teams of highly skilled metal workers who could meticulously form steel or aluminum into complex compound shapes. With the invention of fiberglass, almost anyone could create a mould and then turn out body after body with minimal technical skill required.

In the USA companies like Devin, Kaiser, Kurtis, and many others appeared, even Chevrolet would build their new Corvette from the material. The age of composite sports cars had arrived, and it was affordable to all thanks to the low cost nature of fiberglass.

Into this midst of this rapidly evolving scene appeared Martin Plastics Maidstone Ltd in 1953, founded by Frederick E. Martin with one purpose in mind – building lightweight sports car bodies.

Although much of the history is lost to time it’s believed that the company made hundreds of these bodies, many of which would have ended up being turned into cars in people’s sheds and garages across the United Kingdom.

It’s not possible to know for certain however it’s believed that fewer than half a dozen have survived in complete form to the current day.

As you would expect the interior is relatively spartan, there’s seating for two, twin adjustable windscreens, a centrally mounted shifter, and no shortage of good visibility.

The 1962 Martin Ford Special

The car you see here was built on a modified 1939 Ford Prefect chassis and it now benefits from upgraded suspension, with Bowden Engineering independent conversion with Woodhead-Monroe telescopic dampers up front, and a Ballamy-modified set up in the rear, also with Woodhead-Monroe telescopic dampers.

The current owner restored the car a few years ago, bringing it up to excellent condition throughout. The body-off restoration included repainting the chassis, repairing the body where needed, and fettling the other parts of the car to get it back into as-new condition.

During the restoration he added a period-correct Ford 100E 1172cc sidevalve engine with twin SU carburetors and some performance tuning, this sends power back to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual transmission.

He believes that the car may have been used for racing at some point in its past as during the restoration process he found a slew of parts that had likely been fitted for competition.

The car is now due to cross the auction block with H&H Auctions on the 6th of October with a price guide of £6,000 – £8,000, which works out to approximately $8,200 to $10,900 USD. If you’d like to read more about the car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of H&H Auctions

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The George Barris Turbosonic Custom Dragster – Powered By A 1000 hp Micro-Turbine Engine

This is the 1964 Turbosonic Custom Dragster, it was designed and built by famed Hollywood vehicle creator George Barris, the man responsible for the original Batmobile, the Munster Koach, the The Beverly Hillbillies family truck, and a Cadillac limousine for Elvis Presley – to name just a few.

The name Turbosonic may not be familiar to you but it was a hot subject of debate in the drag racing world of the 1960s. Turbosonic was the name of a company that offered mail order micro-turbine engines that weighed 120 lbs but could produce up to a (claimed) 1,000 hp.

Fast Facts – Turbosonic Custom Dragster

• The Turbosonic Custom Dragster was built in 1964 by Barris and his team at Barris Kustom Industries in California.
• The vehicle is powered by a Turbosonic mail order micro-turbine engine said to be capable of up to 1,000 hp.
• The three-wheeled vehicle employs a delta wing shape and has a central seating position for the driver.
• Some Turbosonic-powered drag racing vehicles built in the 1960s were capable of 7.3 second 1/4 mile times with speeds of over 150 mph.

George Barris And The Custom Car Revolution

When it comes to outlandish American custom cars there is no name more famous than that of George Barris, a man who had immigrated to the United States as a young child with his brother and father after the death of his mother, and spent much of his childhood working in the family’s Greek restaurant.

Above Video: George Barris talks about developing the first Batmobile.

George and his brother Sam were drawn to cars from a young age, customizing them and selling them on for a profit while they were still in school. In the years after WWII the work of the Barris brothers began to draw more and more attention, and by the late 1950s they were the de facto custom car builders for Hollywood.

Over the course of the decades-long reign of Barris Custom Industries some of the most memorable cinema cars in history would roll out of the workshop, including (as mentioned above) the first Batmobile, the updated versions of KITT from Knight Rider, the Torino from Starsky and Hutch, the Munster Koach and the Munster Drag-U-La dragster, and the truck from The Beverly Hillbillies.

Barris also built personal cars for the rich and famous including matching convertible Ford Mustangs for Sonny and Cher, a gold Rolls Royce for Zsa Zsa Gabor, a custom station wagon for John Wayne, a Cadillac station wagon for Dean Martin, a Cadillac limousine for Elvis Presley, and custom gold carts for Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Ann-Margret, Glen Campbell, and Elton John.

That’s not all that Barris and his team did, it’s just the highlights reel. Perhaps the most interesting client that Barris ever had was NASA, who requested the blueprints to the Moonscope, a custom six-wheeled vehicle with spider-like suspension than NASA wanted to study when they were developing the Lunar Rover.

The Turbosonic Custom Dragster

The Turbosonic Custom Dragster was built in 1964 to make use of the Turbonique micro-turbine, an engine that had been developed by Clarence “Gene” Middlebrooks Jr, a Georgia Tech alumni who had worked with Martin-Marietta on the propulsion system for the Pershing missile program before starting his own company – Turbonique.

The Turbosonic Custom Dragster has a delta-wing shape and was designed to be fully functional.

Turbonique became famous for offering micro-turbines advertised in the classified ad sections in the back of magazines. The turbines claimed to be capable of 1,000+ hp, they ran on isopropyl nitrate monopropellant, and they had the unnerving habit of becoming a bomb if the driver let off the throttle and then reapplied it suddenly.

One of the company’s most famous offerings was the TB-28 or the “Drag Axle,” it was a micro-turbine that mounted directly to the rear axle of a vehicle to supplement the power provided by the engine. The TB-28 drove the axle via a Borg Warner sprag clutch, and due to its “on or off” nature it was intended for drag racing.

The Turbosonic Custom Dragster was designed with an alloy frame and a body made largely from fiberglass with some alloy sections. The design work is credited to George Barris, Les Tompkins, Dick Dean, and Tom Daniels, with Skip Torgeson tasked with driving duties.

The Delta V-shape of the vehicle was rising to prominence due to the military employing such designs in aircraft like the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird which was also built in 1964. The Turbonique micro-turbine engine required that the vehicle be fitted with a parachute and four stabilizer wing flaps.

This vehicle is now coming up for auction with Mecum in January, the listing explains that it comes with vintage photos and postcards as well as the Barris Kustom City news release included. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Carol Duckworth via Mecum

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