Description
Offered for sale is a rare, beautiful and ceaselessly grin-inducing part of British sports car history: 1964 Daimler SP250 “Dart”. Introduced at the New York Motor Show in 1959, with its wildly designed fiberglass body, Girling disc brakes and an Edward Turner 2.5L Hemi head V8 engine, the Dart was as modern a sports car as was on the market. The name was officially changed to “SP250” in 1960, following the threat of a lawsuit from Dodge over the “Dart” branding, but enthusiasts still refer to it by the name its manufacturer intended. Dodge’s concerns were warranted, as the model found its greatest success here in the States, its tail fins and Hemi engine setup familiar and desirable to the US market. That said, only 2,600 odd cars were ever produced and finding clean, correct examples isn’t a frequent occurrence.
This example benefits from the more rigid Jaguar-produced chassis, instituted after they acquired Daimler and found faults in the earlier cars’ Triumph TR3-based chassis. It’s also benefitted from a true enthusiast owner who undertook a complete, body-off restoration beginning in 2002. An English engineer with a modest British sports car collection (Two E-Types, a Healey, a Mini and this Dart), the owner spent the better part of a decade restoring this “labor of love”, only parting with it because a move back to England made keeping it impractical. During the restoration, the fiberglass body was removed and stripped, the chassis (which had never seen any sort of rust) was sanded and detailed, the exhaust was replaced, the engine and transmission were removed and rebuilt, the electrical system was gone through and the brakes and clutch were redone. The interior was refurbished, a new tan soft-top was installed and four new knock-off wire wheels were installed. The result of his efforts is beautiful and exactly as he intended: a wonderful driver worthy of tours and classic car events, but used almost exclusively for weekend jaunts with his wife around his part of the country.
Since completion, he estimates having put only a couple thousand miles on the car and considering the condition in which he received it, he feels that the 57k miles showing on the odometer is likely original. The car is an absolute joy to drive. For anyone who has never experienced a Turner Hemi head V8, it entirely makes the car. An incredible throaty engine tone out of the dual exhaust is the first indication upon turning the key, followed by incredible force when its driver finds some open road. Of the dozens of iconic British sports cars we’ve owned and driven (including Healeys, Jags, etc. etc.), with its 140 hp engine and light weight fiberglass body, nothing feels quite as fast as this Dart does roaring down the road. And perhaps the most fun part is that when people turn to look at what’s making all the noise, almost no one knows what the car is. The engine idles consistently, pulls strongly through each gear, has excellent compression and doesn’t show any indication of overheating. The suspension feels tight and the car drives and brakes straight. It has a truly visceral, wonderfully vintage drive quality.
Cosmetically the car is very clean with tons of “eye-ball”. It’s by no means a show car, but as the pictures show, it presents quite nicely. The “arrest-me” red finish has its share of imperfections, although none of them were significant enough to appear in any of the pictures. The fiberglass body is in excellent shape with consistent panel fits and gaps throughout. The interior is equally clean, the seats, carpets and interior panels showing only negligible wear. A point worth noting: the original shift knob is quite tatty in the pictures and a new one has been sourced and ordered. The knock-off wire wheels are near flawless, wrapped in tires with plenty of remaining tread. The engine compartment and trunk are both clean, the car retains its original full wire spare wheel and comes with its original dual antennas, a file on its restoration, a complete shop manual and an owner’s manual.
If you’ve specifically been looking for a Dart, or just something different in the European sports car market, this car represents a rare and excellent opportunity to acquire a solid, beautiful and mechanically fresh example. We’re sure it will provide the same fun and pride of ownership to its next owner as it did for its last.
