1955' Daimler Conquest Drophead Coupé

For sale by auction on Saturday 26th November 2016 with Historics at Mercedes-Benz World, Weybridge, Surrey.

Registration RGW 868
Chassis Number 87737
Engine Number 72399
Estimate £18,000 - £22,000

The Conquest saloon was released to the public in 1953 as a replacement for the Daimler Consort, but was shorter and lighter with better performance. The Daimler Conquest was meant to be an affordable Daimler, priced at £1,066. It was a pedigree with pace at a reasonable price and still had luxurious, well-appointed traditional wood-grain and leather interiors. Actual construction was by another BSA subsidiary, 'Carbodies'. The open two-seater Conquest Roadster first appeared at the Motor Show in 1953 with the tuned engine later known as the Century engine. The roadster was not available to the public until 1954. The Daimler Conquest Century, released in 1954, was the best seller of the range with 4,818 produced and boasted 100 horsepower and, presumably downhill, 100mph; hence the Century. However, the roadster was dropped from production in 1955 as the dropheads had outsold them by over 3:1. At the 1955 Motor Show a new drophead four-seater and a drophead coupé version of the two-seater roadster were introduced.

This delightful Daimler presents in good condition having clearly been well cared for throughout its 62 years on British roads. The body and paintwork have been restored at some stage to a good standard and the red leather trim appears to be original as does the wood dash. When requested, the 2433cc, six-cylinder engine fired up instantly and sounded delightful; we are advised the pre-selector gearbox operates exactly as it should and that the car drives very well on the road. Underneath this Daimler is as sound as the rest of her with a good, strong, un-corroded chassis. The hydraulic hood has not been used much of late and the vendor has stated that it may be in need of some fluid, however due to health issues he is not in a position to do this. Supplied with a V5C registration document this Daimler Conquest Drophead Coupé is a very rare sight, it is thought circa ten examples exist in the UK.