Daimler V8 Buyer's Guide
This page covers the two cars built around Edward Turner's masterpiece of a 2.5-litre V8: the SP250 "Dart" sports car and the V8 250 saloon. Four sold results from £9,000 to £31,500 (median £17,688) show the split plainly: the glassfibre Dart is the collector car, while the saloon sold at £9,000 remains one of the great undervalued British luxury compacts.
Know your versions
The SP250 (1959–1964) is the controversial-looking glassfibre roadster. It came in three specifications that the market cares about: the original A-spec, whose chassis flexed enough that doors could open on hard cornering; the 1961 B-spec, with a stiffened chassis and detail improvements; and the final C-spec with further equipment. Both our top results were C-spec cars. The V8 250 (1962–1969, badged 2.5 V8 then V8 250 from 1967) is a Jaguar Mk2 bodyshell with the Daimler V8, a fluted grille and, usually, Borg-Warner automatic transmission; it is lighter-nosed and sweeter-riding than the equivalent Jaguar and was the last true Daimler engine in production.
What to pay
Four sales: £31,500 and £19,125 for two 1964 SP250 C-spec cars (both late August 2026, a spread that is all condition), £16,250 for a 1960 Dart (March 2026), and £9,000 for a 1967 2.5 V8 saloon (August 2026). Median £17,688. Live listings agree with the shape of this: two restored or uprated Darts estimated at £27,000–34,000 apiece and a B-spec car priced at £27,456, with a project-grade 1964 Dart at £10,000–15,000 and a 1968 saloon at £8,000–10,000. Read it as three tiers on our evidence: saloons at £8,000–10,000, usable Darts in the mid-teens to £19,125, and the best restored Darts at £27,000–34,000, with our £31,500 result at the top.
What goes wrong
The V8 itself is the good news: a free-revving, under-stressed hemi-head design that responds to proper valve adjustment and regular oil changes, though worn valve gear and noisy timing chains on neglected engines need a specialist who knows the unit, and there are fewer of those each year. On the SP250, the glassfibre body hides the real issue: the separate steel chassis rots, especially around outriggers and suspension mounts, and A-spec flex means checking door fit tells you about structure. Crazed gelcoat is cosmetic; a bent or patched chassis is not. The saloon shares every Mk2 Jaguar rust point: sills, floors, arches, valances and the front crossmember, and values rarely justify a full restoration, so buy one already done. Girling brake and Lucas electrical parts are shared with period Jaguars and well supported.
Our view
The V8 250 saloon at our £9,000 result is the thinking buyer's Mk2: rarer than the Jaguar, better-balanced, cheaper, and powered by the best engine Daimler ever made. It will never be worth restoring from rot, so a sound one is the whole strategy. The Dart is the appreciating asset, and the wide gap between our two same-spec, same-year results (£19,125 against £31,500) says condition and history are worth paying up for; a £27,000–34,000 estimate car that checks out beats a cheap chassis gamble. Either way you get the V8, which is the point.
