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Royal Daimler Abandoned in a Romanian Car Park Since 2001: It Failed to Start

Not all of the royal limousines are kept safe as showcases in museums around the world. Some of them are left behind, forgotten by their owners. It’s the case of this rusting Daimler DS 420, that was left in a hotel parking place in Bucharest, Romania, since 2001, after it allegedly failed to start for Prince Philip’s royal visit.
Royal Daimler Abandoned in a Romanian Car Park Since 2001 3 photos
Photo: www.dailymail.co.uk
Royal Daimler Abandoned in a Romanian Car Park Since 2001Royal Daimler Abandoned in a Romanian Car Park Since 2001
The Daimler limousine was supposed to ferry the Prince around after he arrived in Bucharest, for a key World Wildlife Fund meeting over a decade ago. According to Daily Mail, the rare and valuable vehicle was abandoned in disgrace after refusing to start for the visit. Problem is, nobody was interested in taking the car back, and the rightful owner, the British consulate, denies that it belongs to them.

According to Bucharest Intercontinental Hotel officials and the managers of the car park underneath the hotel, the vintage Daimler DS 420 is the property of the British Embassy. They’ve reportedly written to them on several occasions, but no answer was received. Even though somebody should pay a fat receipt for the car being parked for about 13 years, the officials claim they want to buy the classic.

On the other hand, when contacted for a statement, a spokesman for the British Embassy in Bucharest denied that the car was theirs, saying: “The British Embassy in Bucharest does not own, according to its records, a vintage car along the lines of the technical features you describe.

In other words, the classic jewel has no mother and no father, but adoptive parents ready to take it in. And it’s worth it, that’s for sure. Produced between 1968 and 1992, the vehicles are used extensively as official state cars in several countries, including by the British, Danish and Swedish royal houses.

As to the model itself, well it’s a stunner. Unlike its predecessor, it had no Daimler engineering, but was entirely a Jaguar product, having a 4.2-liter version of the Jaguar XK straight-six engine, capable of delivering 245 horsepower. It also replaced the Vanden Plas 4-liter Princess Limousine, and was initially produced at the Vanden Plas works in Kingsbury, North London.

As to its price, a similar vehicle that once belonged to the Prince of Qatar is currently listed for a sale on a classic car website for £35,000 ($59,804). Well, it’s not famous statesman Mikhail Gorbachev’s 1989 ZIL Limousine rated at $1,2 million, nor Romanian communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu’s personal Dacia 2000, but the Daimler is definitely a collectable you’d like to have in your garage.
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