1964 Daimler Dart SP250 - Ex Metropolitan Police
This is probably the most authentic Daimler Police car in existence. BLE 267B is number 26, the very last Police car built by Daimler. The Jaguar Daimler Trust Heritage Certificate for this car confirms that it was built on the 10th September 1964, finished in Black, and with the optional automatic transmission. The original sale was handled by Daimler Dealers Stratstone of London and the SP250 was dispatched on the 15th September 1964 to the Metropolitan Police. The car’s original buff logbook is also present in the comprehensive history file and confirms that it was based at the Metropolitan Police Driving School at Hendon for six months before being stationed at Wembley, North London.

The story behind how these sports cars came into service goes back to the late 1950s when Rock & Roll topped the charts and America increasingly influenced London with their culture of motorbikes. The post-war economy had improved in Britain and many youngsters had the disposable income to buy a motorcycle. Soon gangs of up to 300 motorcyclists known as Café Racers would gather to play the juke box and race their bikes. The most legendary London venue was the Ace Café, a transport cafe since 1938, and a popular hangout for rockers, bikers and petrolheads ever since. The ‘Ton-up boys' were the most infamous riders with motorcycles able to exceed 100mph.
There were soon up to three fatalities per week and with no police car fast enough to catch them, urgent action was required to curb the craze.

In November 1961 the first order of 26 Police Daimler SP250s was made. Popularly nicknamed the ‘Dart', Daimler had been prevented from using this name as it was trademarked by Dodge in the U.S.A. Powered by the legendary Edward Turner 2546cc V8, the car was capable of 120 mph and they were the most cost-effective high-performance car on the market. With the lightweight fibreglass body and three speed automatic gearbox, the SP250 was incredibly smooth and with the performance to make it a very effective Police Car. The Police cars were all painted Black and were unmarked except for the Winkworth bell and a spotlight fitted at the front.

BLE 267B comes with an exceptional history file, and further provenance has been added by its last owner, a former Metropolitan Traffic Patrol Officer. He is also a qualified vehicle examiner and undertook the full ground up restoration that cost of over £75,000 over a fifteen-year period. As the aficionado and expert for Police ‘Dart's', he ensured the car was rebuilt to an exceptionally high standard and was as correct as possible with the original Police specification equipment in place. BLE 267B has some extremely rare equipment including the factory suppression kit under the bonnet, police radio mounted in the correct position inside the glove box, working Police air horns and bell, rear Lucas lamps, Police calibrated speedometer in the correct position with the Met's Special Branch workshop-made mounting, blue and red dashboard torpedo lights, cigarette lighter and map light for the passenger officer.

Fifteen years of hard work have gone into this car which now has to be one of, if not THE most collectable of Daimler Police cars in the country. The car was in the hands of its restorer and long-term owner for seventeen years, and he has collated priceless paperwork that comes with the car to include a letter from the cars first non-police owner who purchased the car in 1969. Previous registered owners from the original buff logbook were the Receiver for the Metropolitan Police in 1964, and in 1967 New Scotland Yard London SE1. The history file also includes early documents including MOT certificates, photos, Police archive records and a large comprehensive file of invoices from the restoration, plus notes covering the finest of detail.