Daimler DR450.

The city of North Salt Lake has been mentioned previously on Ran When Parked. A November 13^th, 2007, article defines the city as “a mildly depressing place dotted with refineries, factories and construction businesses.” Unfortunately things have not improved since, one could even argue the opposite. However, the city has again given us a rare find: a Daimler DR450.

The Daimler DR450 came out in 1961 and was essentially a much longer and much heavier limousine version of the Majestic Major sedan introduced in 1959. Its name hints at the 4561cc V8 with hemispherical cylinder heads that lurks under the hood. The engine was carried over from the Majestic Major mated to an automatic transmission.

The Majestic Major was a fairly luxurious car but the DR450 took it to new heights. It had all the equipment one would expect from a limousine including a glass separation between front and rear compartments, a middle row of jump seats and a back seat bigger than your average sofa. Wood paneling was standard all around and the dash included a complete set of gauges.

To simply state that this car is big would be an immense understatement. This car dwarfs a w126-series Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Let’s put it into perspective: a w126 560SEL (the long wheelbase model, mind you) is 203 inches (5160mm) long and weighs 3,980 pounds (1,805 kgs). The DR450 is 226 inches (5740mm) long and weighs a hefty 4,650 pounds (2,109 kgs). Despite its weight the V8 managed to quietly and comfortably propel the car to a top speed of over 110 miles per hour.

Production ended in 1968 after 864 cars came out of the Coventry factory. It was replaced by the Jaguar-based DS420 limousine.

The car photographed above and below is for sale. We have no relation to the seller, it merely caught our attention on the side of the road in rush hour traffic. It's missing the engine, the transmission, the bumpers, the rear bench seat, two gauges and a title, though applying for one would be a quick and painless process in Utah. It has some rust but it just came out of a storage unit so it doesn't have the cancer that a car sitting outside would have. The seller is not clear on what year the car is. Contact us if you are interested and we will give you the phone number that is written on the car.