Osian's Auction Catalogue Vintage and Classic Automobiles | February 2019

112 | Osian’s – Connoisseurs of Art 13 1950/51 DAIMLER DB 18 SPECIAL SPORTS Documentation  Complete Chassis N°  56145 Engine N°  44129 - A very rare and exceptional motor car - Excellent provenance with Maharaja of Morvi as first owner - In very good condition with beautiful colour combination INR 5,500,000 – 8,000,000 US$ 76,389 – 111,111 In 1895 Englishman Frederick Richard Simms purchased the license for gasoline engines for the UK market from the German company Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, which had been founded by Gottlieb Daimler. In October 1895 Harry J. Lawson, a British entrepreneur, acquired the license from Frederick Richard Simms, to build cars powered by Daimler’s combustion engines, and on January 14, 1896, by purchasing a factory in Coventry, Lawson founded the Daimler Motor Company, the very first automobile factory in Britain. Eight months after the start of production, 89 cars had been made and by the early years of the 20th century, the range of models produced by Daimler had greatly expanded, including models with power ratings of between 28 and 50hp. Daimler’s reputation was cemented when it provided a Daimler 22HP to King Edward VII, and since then it became the main supplier of cars to the British Royal Family till the early 1950s. In 1910, Birmingham Small Arms (BSA, which also became famous as a motorcycle manufacturer) acquired Daimler, and in January 1931 BSA bought out Lanchester, and which was made a subsidiary of Daimler. In the meantime, Daimler had thrived making cars, trucks, buses and tractors during World War I, as well as aero engines. In 1925, Daimler introduced a new long-stroke in-line six- cylinder, which became the mainstay of the brand, followed by a new V12 in 1926, the legendary Double Six. In 1933, Daimler re-introduced the production of heavy vehicles, Provenance  Maharaja of Morvi Lakhdhirji Waghji Bahadur Non-Exportable Item