This Daimler DE 27 from the 1940s may not be as old and valuable, but it was also used to transport members of the British royal family. And it just came out of storage after 32 years.
And don’t let the white paint fool you, this Daimler shows traces of the maroon hue that has been gracing royal cars since the early 1900s. Why is it painted white, you ask? Well, once it retired from royal duty, this Daimler became a wedding car.
And the story goes that it was put into storage sometime in 1990 after the wind damaged the driver’s door. It was still running when it was parked in a warehouse and it didn’t come out until 2022, a whopping 32 years later.
Saved by YouTube’s “Curiosity Incorporated,” the Daimler appears to be in excellent condition. Yes, the driver’s door needs to be fixed, but other than that, it’s pretty much road-worthy. And even though there is some bubbling in the paint, there are no rust spots to worry about.
But does it still run? Well, the old inline-six mill doesn’t fire up after more than three decades of sitting, but the owner manages to get it running for a little bit. There’s still a long way to go, but this Daimler shows great potential. Sure, it would be great to see it restored in its original royal livery, but it’s not half-bad as it is either.
If you’re not familiar with the Daimler DE, it was produced from 1946 to 1953 in Coventry, England. Daimler offered two versions. The DE 27, like the one shown here, was powered by an inline-six engine, while the DE 36 was a more expensive variant with an inline-eight mill.
An overhead-valve design, the 4.1-liter inline-six was rated at 110 horsepower and 190 pound-feet (260 m) of torque. The DE was replaced by the Daimler DK400 in 1954.