Rolls-Royce v. Daimler

To keep a sense of proportion, at a time of high-level Rolls-Royce happenings, I have been thinking of how this make compared to Daimler, the former Royal car. The Daimler Majestic Major of 1961 was one of the last of the real Daimlers, before Jaguar influence intruded, a fine car with its Edward Turner-designed, over-square 4 1/2-litre V8 engine. Performance isn’t everything, but it is interesting to compare the capabilities of this Daimler with those of the then-current V8 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II. The following figures are those taken by Motor Sport with a fifth-wheel and electric speedometer for the Daimler and others, generally accepted as equally accurate, for the Rolls-Royce:

Daimler Majestic Major

0-30 mph .. 3.4 sec.

0-40 mph .. 5.2

0-50 .. 7.0

0-60 .. 9.6

0-70 .. 13.1

0-80 .. 16.3

0-90 .. 22.0

0-100 .. 28.7

ss 1/4 mile .. 17-4

Top speed: 123 sec.

Fuel thirst: 15.8 m.p.g.

Price new: £2,623

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II

0-30.mph ..3.8 sec.

0-40 .. 5.9

0-50 .. 8.3

0-60 .. 11.5

0-70 .. 15.5

0-80 .. 21.1

0-90 .. 27.4

0-100 .. 38.5

ss 1/4-mile .. 18.2

Top speed: 115.0 sec.

Fuel thirst: 11.8 m.p.g.

Price new: £5,516

Verb sap. – W.B.