Daimler returns with an all-new model: the Super Eight.

These levels of performance could not be achieved without a class-leading six-speed automatic transmission and the use of aluminium for the Daimler’s high-tech chassis and body panels. This lightweight material shaves over 200kg from the weight of the car compared to the previous generation Daimler, meaning the new model shows superb balance and handling at higher speeds but tremendous refinement and comfort at all times. Like the models that preceded it, the latest version exhibits true Daimler characteristics – hiding latent power and performance behind a calm and dignified exterior.

The Daimler Heritage

Now owned by Jaguar Cars, the Daimler Motor Company was formed in 1896 after the German-born British engineer Fredrick Simms had established an earlier agreement to sell Gottlieb Daimler’s engine technology in Britain. With funding from motor financier HJ Lawson, the first British-built Daimlers appeared in 1897 and were hugely popular – 89 were sold in the first year of production to customers amazed by a series of endurance trials, including Henry Sturmey’s run from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

Early Daimler owners included John Scott-Montagu, a Member of Parliament and enthusiastic motorist. He was the father of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu who established the National Motor Museum in his memory. When Montagu ran his four-cylinder Daimler in the 1899 Paris-Ostend road race with co-driver Charles Rolls, they became the first British drivers in motoring history to enter one of the famous long-distance races.

It was Montagu who introduced Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), to the Daimler name in 1900. And in so doing he cemented a relationship with the British royal family that would extend for over a century.

The Second World War saw Daimler’s attentions diverted by the war effort – between 1939 and 1945 they built nearly 10,000 4x4 Scout Cars and 50,000 Bristol aero engines. But following the conflict attention returned to construction of the DE36, at the time the world’s largest production car, so designed because its chassis was the only one capable of supporting the enormous coach built bodies ordered by heads of state.

In 1960, Daimler was bought by Jaguar Cars and in nearly half a century since has continued to represent the epitome of luxury British motoring.

Traditionally Daimler has appealed to customers from the United Kingdom and mainland European countries such as Switzerland, Italy, Holland, Belgium and France. However, the burgeoning Far East market is also expected to show considerable interest in the new Daimler.

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