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BAKER STREET : Peter Baker


Not just for royalty  Words by Peter Baker


I’ve bought another car. Nothing new in that, I hear you say, you’ve been opening Baker Street using the same boring sentence for the last fifteen years. True, although in my defence, this latest purchase brings with it an interesting back-story.

In 1954 the Monte-Carlo Rally peaked in popularity, attracting over 400 entries from 21 nations, driving 50 different car types. The seven start points included Glasgow, Monte-Carlo, Oslo, Munich, Stockholm, Lisbon and, because Aristotle Onassis had helped bankroll the event, Athens. Briefly, competitors were expected to complete a non-stop route of 2,000 miles before reaching the principality, including the all-important 164-mile regularity section running through the Alps Maritimes. After a night’s rest the rally concluded with a five-lap, handicap race, around the GP circuit.

Twenty-one British manufacturers were represented, with Ford (32) ahead of Jaguar (21) in popularity, followed by Sunbeam Talbot (18) and then Austin (10) and Jowett (7), surprisingly matched in numbers by Daimler. With the newly-launched ‘Conquest’, a name admirably derived from its ex-factory price of £1,066, Daimler was hoping to attract a ‘different’ type of clientele.

The 96 Glasgow starters, including the novice Scottish pair of Anne and Christine Neil (Standard Vanguard), set out from Blythswood Square on a very wet 18 January, their progress followed live by the BBC on both television and radio. Sadly, they were not heard of again. Stirling Moss and his two passengers, representing Sunbeam Talbot, chose Athens as their start, a bad decision. Lucky to survive the Arctic conditions through Yugoslavia, they still finished a well-deserved 14th place overall. On the whole though, the weather was kind, allowing 329 crews to finish the event and enjoy more than a few beers at ‘The Kit Kat Club’ in celebration.

At the glitzy prize-giving, local boy and past winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, Louis Chiron (Lancia Aurelia) was handed the winner’s trophy, only to be told next morning to hand it back. The tenth-placed team of Houel/Quinlin (Alfa Romeo) had, quite righty, protested the legality of the Lancia, a car cobbled together at the ‘works’, using the chassis from one model and the power unit from another. The Automobile Club de Monaco threw out the protest but, undeterred, the pair appealed directly to the FIA, who took a long three months before agreeing with the ACM, refusing to back their claim. Chiron was given back the trophy.


Nancy Mitchell and Lola Grounds - 1955 Monte Carlo Rally
But I hear you ask: ‘What about the Daimlers?’ Good question. It took many by surprise when of the seven that set out, six completed the distance, and five finished inside the top 100. Even better, a year later, on the 1955 ‘Monte’ seven finished, including the female pairing of Nancy Mitchell and Lola. Unfortunately, their 17th position was beaten, by a total of 114 points, to the Ladies Prize by Sheila Van Damm/Anne Hall (Sunbeam Talbot MkIII).

The Conquest’s 15 minutes of fame may only have lasted two years, that’s an oxymoron if ever I heard one, but it changed people’s perception of the Daimler brand forever. The oldest manufacturer of motor cars in the UK had finally shrugged off its stuffy ‘royalty only’ image and, thanks to its trademark, Wilson pre-selector gearbox, flexible six-cylinder engine, superior independent front suspension and overall high build quality, almost overnight, became a most desirable competition car. That’s why yours truly just had to have one.