Daimler (England) Ribbed Grille Frames

I have written many times about visual automobile brand identification on this blog, not to mention my e-book "How Cars Faced the Market: Grille Design Continuity."  In general, luxury and other up-market marques tend to maintain identification continuity more than do brands farther down the price/prestige scale.  A common means of doing this involves continuity of grille design themes.  My usual examples of this are Rolls-Royce and Packard.

Another strong example is England's Daimler, a now-dormant luxury brand that for many years was favored by British royalty.  Daimler grilles' distinctive feature was tube-like ribbing across the top part of the grille frame.  Its origin is explained in the link above.

This ornamentation feature is truly distinctive.  Also unattractive, which might explain why no other important brand's stylists bothered to design variations on that theme.  (For example, Ford's Lincoln brand sometimes featured grilles reminiscent of Rolls-Royce's, but never Daimler's.)

Below are images of some Daimlers that illustrate how the grille theme evolved to accommodate changing body designs.

Gallery

1911 Daimler Phaeton - for sale photo
A fairly early example of the Daimler grille ensemble.

1928 Daimler 2 litre saloon - Barrett-Jackson auction photo
Even by the late 1920s the grille area on some Daimlers was the radiator.  However, the two-segment grille (see below) had also appeared on other models.

1935 Daimler Light Fifteen Saloon - Mecum auction photo
Shown here is a grille with nearly all the standard Daimler elements.  A two-segment frame with a central chromed divider, and the rounded-off upper frame element with those ribs.  Yet to come are vertical chromed grille bars.

1939 Daimler DB18 2.5 Litre Sports Saloon - Bonhams auction photo
This grille ensemble works fairly well with the other frontal elements.

1949 Daimler DB18 2.5 Litre Foursome Drophead Coupé by Barker & Co. - Bonhams auction photo
A postwar version of the same model.  From this angle the grille seems more V'd than that of the 1939 car.

1953 Daimler Empress Saloon - Barrett-Jackson auction photo
By the late 1940s Daimler grilles featured stronger grille bars and the ensemble shape was now curved backwards, as seen in this 1953 example.

1960c. Daimler Majestic
A Daimler from around the time Jaguar took over the company.  This is one of the final pure-Daimler designs.  The grille is well-integrated with the rest of the car, yet those ribs are a distraction.

1964 Daimler Majestic Major Saloon - Hyman photo
Later example of the same model providing a better view of the grille.

1984 Daimler Sovereign - for sale photo
Finally, a Daimler based on a Jaguar body.  The grille ensemble is necessarily smaller, shorter and flatter.  But even those ribs atop the frame do little to distinguish this Daimler from contemporary Jaguars.