Winston Churchill's 1939 Daimler Drophead Coupé

This post is one of several dealing with English Daimler cars that were sporty, rather than formal Royal Family types.  The subject is a 1939 Daimler DB18 Drophead Coupé, body by Carlton.  The Wikipedia entry for Daimler DB18 is here.

That entry (as of late April 2024) mentions: "In 1939, Winston Churchill commissioned Carlton Carriage Co to build a drophead coupe on a DB18 chassis, chassis No.49531.  He used it during election campaigns in the later 1940s."

That does not seem to be so.  Several other sources state that Churchill never owned the car.  According to this:

"Chassis 49531 – resplendent in Carlton Carriage Company bodywork – was retained by the Daimler company itself until 1950, so that it could be used for special occasions.  These occasions included two separate loans to Winston Churchill, once in 1944 and once in 1949, during which he sat on the rear deck to address the crowds as he was driven through various cities, helped by large speakers temporarily attached to the bonnet."

Setting its provenance aside, it's an attractive car combining traditional British features with "streamlined" details current in Europe in the late 1930s.

Unless noted, images below are via RM Sotheby's auction house.

Gallery

I don't know the sourcce of this news photo of Chrurchill campaigning in the car.

Unlike the competing Rolls-Royce, Daimler's grille ensemble is more rounded, blending -- rather than contrasting -- with the curvy body.  I think contrast can work just as well from a composition viewpoint.  it all depends on how the design is done.

The two-tone paint scheme is somewhat unusual in the it is not based on body sculpting or chrome outlining aside from abaft of the rear wheel.  I suppose some design purists might complain that its use here is not "functional."  I think it's effective.  An interesting touch is the chrome sculpting across the upper part of the door.

Speaking of contrasts, the hood is tall and straight, whereas the aft is rounded downwards.  The paint scheme and chrome strip add to the sense of falling away from the car's frontal section.

Rear quarter view showing the top raised.  Note the unusual design of the rear wheel spat combining circularity with echoing of the rear fender's upper profile.  As noted, here is where the two-tone paint relates to body detail shaping.

Side view with top raised.  The wheelbase is on the short side for a Daimler, being 114 inches (2900 mm).  This results in a fairly short hood.

Interior view via the Daily Mail.