New Daimler . . . From Jaguar

[MTI]

Welcome Back, Daimler

(27 Jun 05)

Jaguar is due to resurrect the Daimler name after a three-year absence by applying it to an exceptionally luxurious version of the long-wheelbase XJ saloon. It goes on sale towards the end of this year after being displayed at the Frankfurt Show.

Daimler history is slightly confusing because there are two parts to it, though they spring from the same source. The name lives on in the DaimlerChrysler company which includes Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler and Jeep, but that's a separate issue. Way back in 1896, Gottlieb Daimler established a UK subsidiary, and it is this version of the brand name that Jaguar owns, having bought it in 1960.

Top-specification versions of the XJ range were known until quite recently as the Daimler Sovereign; or, if the car happened to have a 12-cylinder engine, the Daimler Double Six. Jaguar dropped the Daimler name - temporarily, as it turns out - when it introduced the current XJ in 2002, though at present it is building cars called Sovereigns.