By the late Sixties, Daimler had been wholly absorbed into Jaguar, whose marketing department had succeeded in completely and ruthlessly re-shaping the Daimler brand, and were busy badge-engineering Jaguars wherever possible.
T
he new Daimler Sovereign launched in 1966, therefore, was a re-grilled and re-badged derivative of the Jaguar 420 of the period.
Details of the new model were first released in August 1966, with initial production of the 4235-cc six-cylinder-engined Daimler Sovereign planned for later in the year.
First examples of the new release only began to trickle off the production in October of that same year.
The 4.2-litre XK Jaguar engine was used, mated to either the new all-synchro Jaguar gearbox with overdrive or a Borg-Warner Model 8 with dual drive range.
Independent all-round suspension and four-wheel discs were retained while Varamatic power steering, dual hydraulic braking systems, selective interior car temperature control and alternator were standardised.
Also equipped with a pre-engaged starter, heated rear screen, transistorised clock, leather hide upholstery, reclining front seats with centre armrests front and rear, the Sovereign had a fully carpeted boot and twin rear-wing-mounted fuel tanks.With an impressive 245 bhp generated from the XK engine, the Sovereign could reach a maximum speed of 117 mph, rush from 0-50 mph in only 6.7 sec.
Fuel economy for the Sovereigh was also reasonable at around 17 mpg.
Once again the exercise of taking a " simple" Jaguar and relabelling it as a Daimler paid off well, with the car once again adding new dimensions to the overall picture.
