The early history of the Daimler and Lanchester Marques
At the Bremen Exhibition in 1888, or 1890, Gottlieb Daimler demonstrated internal combustion engines which he and his assistant, Wilhelm Maybach, had developed. Impressed with what he saw there, a visiting engineer from Warwickshire, Federick Simms, later acquired for the United Kingdom and colonies (except Canada) all Daimler engine patent rights. In 1893 Simms registered the Daimler Motor Syndicate Ltd. Several important and far reaching changes were in the early days effected in relation to the structure and control of the several companies which successively acquired the patents.
The first British built Daimler made its appearance in January, 1897, and in October of that year a Daimler was driven from John O'Groats to Lands End. Shortly after the Thousand Miles Trial of 1900, in which Daimlers secured sixteen major awards ; King Edward VII purchased a 6 h.p. car with coachwork by Hooper & Co. - the beginning of a long relationship between the Roya1 Family, Daimlers and Hooper & Co.
In 1908 the "Silent Knight" sleeve valve engine was adopted and to dispel scepticism, two such engines were the following year subjected to a rigorous R.A.C. observed test on road, track and bench. When stripped at the conclusion of the arduous tests, neither engine showed any perceptible wear.
Amalgamation of the Company with B.S.A. was effected in 1910 whilst the first car to be fitted with radio was a Daimler in 1922
In 1927 the legendary "Double-Six" made its debut Designed to have a direct gear range of 2-82 m.p.h. This form of power unit, comprising two 6 cylinder blocks mounted on a common crankshaft, remained in production (varying in size from 3,743 to 7,136 c.c.) for ten years
The first four wheeled and petrol driven car made in this country was not a Daimler but a Lanchester-in 1895. Fitted first with a single cylinder engine, the car was later given a twin cylinder air cooled unit and employed two contra-rotating flywheels to achieve engine balance. At this date, 1896, when the motor industry was still in embryo, the Lanchester boasted epicyclic gears and pneumatic lyres. Successive models produced by the Lanchester brothers-Dr. Fred, Frank and George (the last named and the youngest born on the llth December, 1874 is a former Patron of the Daimler and Lanchester Owners Club DLOC) - were technically advanced and many features which first appeared on Lanchester cars are today found in a developed form, in the contemporary automobile.
Both Lanchesters and Daimlers, although having different origins, followed similar lines. Both were built to an extremely high standard of quality and design by Britain's motoring pioneers. The last and possibly the greatest of Lanchesters to be produced by the "old" Company was the Straight Eight introduced in 1928. Three years later The Lanchester Motor Co. Lid. was taken over by Daimlcrs.
Although standardisation ensued, the high standard of mechanical refinement, smoothness of progression and general quality was maintained. During the post-vintage years numerous models were produced bearing the name of Daimler or Lanchester and to a lesser extent B.S.A. Up to 1939 and for a short while after the second World War, the greatest coach-builders in the country collaborated with the Company, each producing and adding something distinctive and original to the coachwork. Not only did the Royal Family patronize both Daimlers and Lanchesters, but so did Royalty and nobility overseas. Daimler cars were used in 1937 at the coronation of His Majesty King George VI, and again in 1953 on the occasion of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II coronation. The respective governments of South Africa in 1947, and New Zealand in 1953, commissioned the Company to supply fleets of Daimlers for use on tour by the Royal Family
In 1960 Jaguar Cars Ltd. acquired from the B.S.A. group The Daimler Co. Ltd. and its subsidiaries.
The last LANCHESTER car produced was in 1956 but
the name, with that of DAIMLER, lives on and so do many of these cars giving
pride and joy to their owners.