Sir Arnold Clark's Daimler Drophead Coupé was owned by King George VI
Sir Arnold Clark's Daimler Drophead Coupé was owned by King George VI
Following on from a special royal visit from The Duke of Rothesay at GTG Training yesterday, now seems like the perfect time to explore Sir Arnold Clark’s classic cars with royal connections.
Last week, we took a look at Sir Arnold’s cars from the 1930s and the two in this article follow on quite nicely, as there is one from 1948, and one from 1950.
During the 1940s, cars became much more streamlined, and manufacturers were forced to go back to using cast-iron and steel as a result of material shortages post WWII. By the 1950s, cars become more technologically advanced, with the advent of radio and more electric operations.
Registration: TAS 131
This Bentley 4.3 Mark VI Sedanca Coupé was made in 1948. The model featured in the 1955 movie To Catch a Thief, and Prince Rainier of Monaco and Grace Kelly owned this particular vehicle. Sir Arnold Clark acquired the car in 2003.
The Mark VI was the first post-war luxury car for Bentley, and it was also the first car from Rolls-Royce to feature a complete all-steel coachwork.
J Gurney Nutting & Co Ltd designed this 1948 model’s chassis, and there were only four bodies of this type made. The Bentley Mark VI chassis with teardrop window detail was shown at the first post-war U.K. Motor Show at Earls Court in October 1948, which would be the last time that Gurney Nutting exhibited.
The firm of J Gurney Nutting was founded in 1919. During the early ‘20s, they began to be commissioned to build coachwork for Rolls-Royce chassis, and gained acclaim for their outstanding Sedanca de Ville designs, which became the choice of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, the Duke of York, later King George VI, and the Duke of Kent, earning the company the Royal Warrant between 1931–35.
The hugely successful Sedanca Coupé designs were given a few updates for the Mark VI. One of the most striking additional design details was the swept teardrop window that was added to the rear panels of the car. This design can be seen on Sir Arnold’s vehicle, and was intended to provide more light and better vision for rear passengers.
Sometime following 1968, the car was acquired by HRH Prince Rainier of Monaco, and purchased from him in 1972 by Alfred H. Heineken. The pair were obviously on good terms, as there is a note on file relating to the friendly sale, written on Palace notepaper, it reads ‘to a collector or museum I would put up these prices’.
During Heineken’s ownership, the car was restored to its original condition, which included repainting the car to its original two-tone colour (it had been painted black some time before). The interior was also restored during this time, and converted from right to left hand drive.
The car has a working 4.3-litre 4257cc I6 petrol engine with six-cylinder pushrod inlet over exhaust valves. It has an automatic gearbox with column change. Suspension is independent front by wishbones and coil springs, rear live axle with half elliptic leaf springs, and the brakes are servo-assisted hydraulically operated drum to front, mechanical drum to rear.
Registration: LGY 8
Sir Arnold Clark purchased this beautiful Daimler DB18 Drophead Coupé in 2003, and loaned it to Glasgow’s Riverside Museum for its grand opening in 2011. The Hooper-coachbuilt 2-door, 4-seater drophead coupé was one of only six made, and it has a royal heritage.
Sir Arnold founded his eponymous business in 1954, just two years after the King died and Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne. The company that carried out the coachwork on this vehicle, Hooper, indicated that the car was originally intended first for the newly married Duke of Edinburgh. However, in answer to a request from their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and after a successful demonstration run, the Daimler’s logbook clearly states that the car was eventually registered by ‘His Majesty, King George VI, Buckingham Palace, SW1’, with the same registration number that the car holds to this day.
Hooper & Co. was a British coachbuilding company based in Westminster, London, which specialised in luxury carriages both horse-drawn and motor-powered. Providing vehicle chassis’ to the very top tier of the market, Hooper worked with top quality practice, and was at the forefront of innovation at the time. To achieve lightness and strength, the body of the Daimler DB18 was constructed with English ash and Alpax castings, alongside Birmabright strengthened plates. It is believed to be one of only six such Hooper-bodied DB18s built (Queen Marie of Yugoslavia purchased another).
Hooper took the greatest care with the work and specification of the vehicle, which was fitted with electric windows and, most unusually for the time, an electrically operated roof that was concealed behind the rear seats when folded down. However, the innovation of a wireless radio was said to have displeased the King. Yet, despite his objections, the original Motorola radio with short wave facility stayed, and two speakers were fitted in the rear of the vehicle to accommodate listening in the back.
There were some other royal details added, including electric window switches made of ivory, a cigar lighter specifically for the smoker King, and a vanity mirror for the Queen Mother.
The car uses a 2522cc in-lie six-cylinder engine with water-cooled and pushrod operated overhead valves. A four-speed epicyclic gearbox with pre-selector change and fluid flywheel has been fitted.
King George VI and his wife, the late well-respected Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, regularly travelled in this fine coachbuilt Daimler. The present Queen Elizabeth is believed to have used the car as well.
Yesterday, HRH Prince Charles was introduced to the car, by Eddie Hawthorne, managing director of Arnold Clark, during the Prince’s visit to GTG Training in Glasgow.
You can view the other parts of this series via the links below.
