The rare but impressive Daimler SP250 “Dart” was considered to be Britain’s answer to the Corvette and an impressive traditional British sports car.

The Dart first appeared at the 1959 New York Motor Show and earned the title of “ugliest car of the show,” which seems odd considering how admired the car eventually became. The SP250 doesn’t bring looks and style to the drive, but it has an impressive British V8 engine that sounds amazing and delivers the power and performance desired by anyone willing to drive this small sports car.

Why was this Daimler product created?

During the 1950s, Daimler was the automaker favored by the British Royal Family. You might think this would be enough to keep the company solvent for years, but that’s not the case. In fact, Daimler was cash strapped, mostly because of previous cars that were interesting but not exciting. There was a serious need to create something new and interesting that might capture the attention of consumers abroad as much as at home. The Dart was capable of doing just that, offering the unique British Sports Car spirit that would give the company an impressive market share.

Extreme power to beat Jaguar

If Daimler wanted to be the choice of British customers, they had to beat Jaguar. This meant a V8 engine that could provide more power and performance in the new Daimler SP250 Dart. This engine was a V8 featuring a 90-degree angle and a single chain-driven camshaft high in the “V.” This pushrod V8 engine was incredible, made of cast chrome-iron with heads of a lighter alloy to cut weight.

Daimler created two engine sizes, 2.5-liters and 4.5-liters, with the smaller engine fitted in the Dart. In today’s world, a 2.5-liter V8 sounds really strange, but that was how British automakers built V8 engines of the time.

Although small in size, these 2.5-liter V8 engines were made to challenge the admired Jaguar XK 6-cylinder engine.

A small budget led to a simple car

In America, the Chevy Corvette was made on a tight budget, and so was the SP250 Dart. This car was conventional in nature, using a body-on-frame construction that was similar to the Triumph TR3. Unfortunately, the chassis, which was created to be as light as possible, meant this car wasn’t as stiff as it should have been from the start.

The lack of chassis stiffness meant the doors could come open while the car was in motion, which could be a big problem if it happened while going around a curve. Another problem was the hood could pop open unexpectedly during hard driving.

Braking and steering in opposite directions

The steering system found in the Daimler SP250 Dart was heavy and difficult at low speeds. This car didn’t include power steering, which meant driving in a parking lot could be a serious challenge.

On the other side of the coin, this small sports car featured disc brakes on all four wheels. This was an incredible addition, considering the budget for the car and that disc brakes were only just beginning to be used in passenger cars.

A fiberglass body made sense

Another area in which Daimler saved money during the production of the SP250 is the body. GM already showed that a fiberglass body could be done in the Corvette, and Daimler did the same thing. Tooling for fiberglass costs one-tenth the price of steel, and this lighter material is rust-free as well.

The Dart name couldn’t be used in America

The Daimler Dart was the name of this small sports car in other areas of the world, but with the Dodge Dart already in production, the name couldn’t be used in the United States. Dodge took legal action against Daimler and prevented them from using Dart in the name. Thus, models sold in the United States were only known as the Daimler SP250 instead of adding the Dart moniker to the name.

The SP250 was a doorstop

We sometimes make fun of the early Toyota Prius models for being wedge-shaped, reminding us of the wooden doorstops found in many school classrooms.

The Daimler SP250 Dart was shaped like a wedge with a low front end and flowing lines up to the rear. This shape was meant to achieve impressive aerodynamics, but the car wasn’t attractive.

Although donned as an ugly car at its debut, this impressive Daimler product is among the many British sports cars that paved the way for today’s sports cars and their success. Eventually, Jaguar purchased Daimler and fixed many of the problems with the Dart, which is a bit strange considering Jaguar’s reputation for unreliability.