Hello everyone, I am new on these threads, though I have been lurking and reading around for quite some time.

Now I know this is the millionth Daimler - Jaguar thread and members here must be annoyed by this topic again.

All I would like to see is head-to-head comparison photos of Daimler Double Six Vanden Plas and Jaguar XJ12 interiors to clearl see the differencies in trim level. I refer to the pre-Jaguar VDP era, so 70s and early 80s (Series I-III).

Also, suspension-wise, I know XJ8 Jags and Daimlers differ slightly, but to my best knowledge, older generations were identical in this regard.

Thank you!

 

Lawrence,

Welcome to the Forums.

When you have the coffee break, please do an Intro in teh New members Area.

I have NO snaps, too old now, and never thought of 2021 way back then.

In Australia, and we be different, we had numerous S2 XJ6, a couple of XJ12, and ONE Daimler 4.2 Sov. NO VDP, very rare down here in any year model.

The seats were the same both versions.
Insulation on the Daimler, much more than the XJ, under carpet, boot panel (as in the back seat panel),
When I went sorting odd things, up under the dash, the Daimler had thicker insulation in those upper areas also.
Different dash wood on the Daimler, Darker by a long shade than the XJ's.

Driving the Daimler was always quieter than any of the XJ's, not by much, but noticeable.

Series 1, NO idea, never had any.
S3 had one only, Son's, and a 1985 Sov, but never liked it.

I would take a Daimler S2 any day over even my more modern chariots, they were to me, just that touch of "special".

Mechanically identical, as you suspected.

 

Francis,

Thanks for the detailed answer.

As I understand, the little bit of extra bit of carpet insulation made the D quieter than the XJ, not mechanical differences, as there were none (only the name of the engine would differ, as both are technically V12s).

It never made sense to me, though. Why would Jaguar make another brand its own top-of the line model, instead of making the XJ12 just as luxurious. Not a very smart marketing move to me, though I am no marketing guru myself.

All in all, not a lot separated the XJ12 and the Daimler DS VDP, if I understand this correctly.

 

Here, looking at a '80 S3 XJ6 dash, the trim looks quite dark



And looks noticeably lighter on a '74 Xj6

 

To be fair, the wood is not the best ID, as many have been re-veneered, and some owners chose a different blend than what was in the car.

ALSO

Different markets got different wood, etc, so there would be a myriad of small things to take into acount.

The USA never really had the Daimler, as some political thing with Merc over "Daimler Benz" naming infringements or similar. I did read about it some 40 years ago, but meant little with us being here Downunder.

The VDP originally was a 4 seater LWB, and only in Daimler versions (NO idea of the US market) up to about??? 1979ish. It was the flagship of the fleet. Later VDP were not built by Vanden Plas, as they were closed. Google will reveal more if you are interested.

Marketing, oh boy, not going there. We got the full range mostly back in the early XJ days, and less so as the S3 came in.

 

Thank you for the valuable first-hand information. Much appreciated.

In closing, is it fair to say, that to the untrained eye, a SII XJ12 and a SII Daimler Double Six VDP are pretty much identical overall? Sure, dash veneer color, and some rugs differ, but these can be considered nuances at the end of the day.

 

First cuppa coffee disclosure. I might come back later with a better brain.

Models sold and badged as "XJ12" had trim virtually identical to the 6-cylinder cars. I recall that some had different console trim (black vs bright) and different leather (smooth vs perforated) but there wasn't a lot to distinguish the two. Year-to-year and market variances complicate all of this, naturally.

Circa 1982 Jaguar dropped the "XJ12" model for a number of years. Getting a V12 engine meant buying an upper-level car, typically Sovereign or VDP depending on market. These cars had obvious trim differences. And, here again, model year and market variations are tricky.

Cheers
DD

 

I actually saw a Daimler a couple years ago locally, lovingly kept in someone's carport. I recognized it Immediately from 100 feet by the scalloped grill. No one was at home so I couldn't ask questions and I was so mesmerized I didn't even get a photo.

Below is a You Tube clip close to what I saw, showing the obvious differences, mostly cosmetic as mentioned. most notably the scalloped grill and trunk plinth, and labels on steering wheel and sill plates. I think they called this Badge Engineering.
(';')

 

Great stuff, beautiful car.

Usually these machines look best in BRG or Burgundy, but this metallic blue looks gorgeous.

 

Look out Lawrence,

That Metallic Blue be BLACK.

The ONLY colour by the way.

 

I was reading some XJ road test article, and a Jag SI VDP was mentioned.