LANCIA GAMMA COUPÉ 2.5 I.E.
Beauty comes first
DAIMLER SUPER V8 LWB
Luxury in a gown
YEAR: 2000
There are cars built merely to be sold, produced as a benchmark of a segment or a trend, but destined to age. Cars created as a result of what the crowd wants, that after twenty years lose most of, if not all their appeal. Then there are other less successful cars from the same period that could be considered timeless classics.
Take a Daimler like this: look at it from every angle, then lower yourself into the seat. Now imagine a German or Japanese car from the same year and segment. That right there is the difference in a nutshell between a true car and merely a means of transportation. And that explains why, despite the—more than deserved—huge commercial success of some flagship models of the early 2000s, mostly German, in the eyes of an aficionado, it is the English that ultimately prevails.
The Jaguar XJ, in its most luxurious gown, becomes the exclusive Daimler Super V8 LWB:
176 million liras in 2000, give or take.
Historical background
Royal from birth
At the end of the ’90s, Jaguar needed to facelift its top-of-the-line model, the XJ. Ford, owner of the marque, decided to heavily invest in the project. After all, the flagship model represents the highest technological capabilities of a brand, a key element in terms of image as well—for the competition as well as for Jaguar.
So in 1997 the new XJ was born, coded X308. Despite the barely restyled aesthetic compared to the previous X300, there were several changes. The new style by Geoff Lawson had only a handful of updated external details while effort was mainly focussed on revamping the interior with a new dashboard, modern and evocative at the same time.
But the real revolution of this Jaguar was in the heart: Ford decided to set aside the 6 and 12-cylinder engines, replacing them with a V8. The AJ-V8 was proposed in three variations: 3.2 L, 4.0 L, and 4.0 L supercharged. At first, a few diehard fans threw up their hands in horror, only to change their minds a few months later when trade magazines published the first official performance data with particular reference to the 363 hp supercharged V8, the most powerful of its range.
A few months later, as per tradition, the Daimler variant was also introduced (luxury marque of the Jaguar and oldest British car brand), and the Super V8 took the concept of elegance to the extreme, gifting all aficionados (and the British Royal Family) with ageless masterpieces.
Briar root and first-class leather, precious carpets, abundant chrome plating: the Daimler Super V8 also had a long wheelbase variant, called LWB, characterised by the two bucket seats instead of the classic flat bench seat.
The production amounts to about 2,300 vehicles, all destined to become timeless cars.
Technical specifications
- BODY STYLE: 4-door saloon
- SEATS: 4
- LENGTH: 514.9 cm
- WIDTH: 179.9 cm
- HEIGHT: 134.5 cm
- WEIGHT: 1,870 kg
- ENGINE: Supercharged V8
- DISPLACEMENT: 3,996 cc
- POWER OUTPUT: 363 hp
- FUEL TYPE: Petrol
- DRIVETRAIN: RWD
- TRANSMISSION: Automatic
- SPEED: 250 km/h, limited
Driving experience – “Come fly with me”
The Daimler is the perfect harmony between driving pleasure and luxury, and the kind furthest away from its most kitsch and exhibitionist connotations. The Super V8 has nothing to do with, for instance, cars such as Bentleys—more expensive and pretentious, they convey an idea of exclusivity characterised by excess, where the driving pleasure is often sacrificed to the benefit of absolute comfort for the passengers. My impression is that the Daimler Super V8 draws only from the idea of luxury, giving the customer a much more complete product where elegance is still the main focus: the balance between an opulent interior and expert engineering work. Not only full-grain leather, exposed stitching and briar root inlays, but a chassis and mechanics that are incredibly efficient as well.
This Daimler LWB, with the wheelbase 12.5 cm longer than in the standard body, maintains an optimal setup in almost every situation thanks to a great chassis and the CATS (Computer Active Technology Suspension) that adapts the rigidity according to driving style and road surface. The automatic transmission, a ZF in naturally aspirated models, is borrowed from Mercedes for the supercharged versions, to cope with high torque values: 525 N m at 3,600 rpm for an acceleration worthy of a runway!
After all, the Super V8 LWB is possibly one of the cars that most resembles a Concorde, capable of carrying its driver and passengers in total comfort. Despite its elevated average speed, it’s unexpectedly easy to handle.
Passione Classica’s Daimler Super V8 LWB
This Daimler, produced on 27th October 1999 in a spectacular shade of Pacific Blue and ivory leather interior, was handed to a family of businesspeople by a well-known Venetian car dealership in 2000, who owned it for a good 20 years.
A 140,000 km car kept in excellent shape with scrupulous maintenance: invoices of the latest interventions, for a total of about 4,000 euros, are available. Of course, it comes with its documents (tune-ups, instructions, operation and maintenance manual…), the famous Valet key, the original accessories line cover, the official Heritage-Daimler document and the certificate of historical relevance for car tax and insurance relief.
The interior is as shown by the photo, treated with a special conditioner to maintain the softness of the leather.
The philosophy behind this project, the limited number of vehicles produced, and the fascinating blend of US mechanics and Anglo-Saxon culture make this Daimler Super V8 LWB an incredibly interesting collector’s piece, whose value is only bound to increase with time.
Still thinking about the German saloons? Please…
Driving experience – “Come fly with me”
The Daimler is the perfect harmony between driving pleasure and luxury, and the kind furthest away from its most kitsch and exhibitionist connotations. The Super V8 has nothing to do with, for instance, cars such as Bentleys—more expensive and pretentious, they convey an idea of exclusivity characterised by excess, where the driving pleasure is often sacrificed to the benefit of absolute comfort for the passengers. My impression is that the Daimler Super V8 draws only from the idea of luxury, giving the customer a much more complete product where elegance is still the main focus: the balance between an opulent interior and expert engineering work. Not only full-grain leather, exposed stitching and briar root inlays, but a chassis and mechanics that are incredibly efficient as well.
This Daimler LWB, with the wheelbase 12.5 cm longer than in the standard body, maintains an optimal setup in almost every situation thanks to a great chassis and the CATS (Computer Active Technology Suspension) that adapts the rigidity according to driving style and road surface. The automatic transmission, a ZF in naturally aspirated models, is borrowed from Mercedes for the supercharged versions, to cope with high torque values: 525 N m at 3,600 rpm for an acceleration worthy of a runway!
After all, the Super V8 LWB is possibly one of the cars that most resembles a Concorde, capable of carrying its driver and passengers in total comfort. Despite its elevated average speed, it’s unexpectedly easy to handle.
Passione Classica’s Daimler Super V8 LWB
This Daimler, produced on 27th October 1999 in a spectacular shade of Pacific Blue and ivory leather interior, was handed to a family of businesspeople by a well-known Venetian car dealership in 2000, who owned it for a good 20 years.
A 140,000 km car kept in excellent shape with scrupulous maintenance: invoices of the latest interventions, for a total of about 4,000 euros, are available. Of course, it comes with its documents (tune-ups, instructions, operation and maintenance manual…), the famous Valet key, the original accessories line cover, the official Heritage-Daimler document and the certificate of historical relevance for car tax and insurance relief.
The interior is as shown by the photo, treated with a special conditioner to maintain the softness of the leather.
The philosophy behind this project, the limited number of vehicles produced, and the fascinating blend of US mechanics and Anglo-Saxon culture make this Daimler Super V8 LWB an incredibly interesting collector’s piece, whose value is only bound to increase with time.
Still thinking about the German saloons? Please…
Price
€ 24,900.00
The cars in my garage
