ENTRY-LEVEL DAIMLER

Q: I’ve been offered a Series 1 Daimler Sovereign as a project and it’s a solid example so I’m tempted to have a go. One thing puzzles me though: I’d always thought the Daimler was the top-end model in the Jaguar range yet this car comes with a 2.8-litre engine. I’ve had a quick look and it is an XK engine not a later XJ40 unit but would it have been fitted from new?

A: Yes. Although the Sovereign was the top-of-the-range trim level, it was possible to order the car with the smaller engine, although very few were produced. It was mroe popular in export markets which penalised the larger engine sizes, so UK examples are pretty rare.