Jaguar Daimler Double Six Coupe, 1977, 7.3l V12, 420bhp, manual, 87,933 miles

Vehicle Description

1977 Daimler Double-Six Coupe, 7.3l V12, 5-speed manual transmission, 87,933 miles, 3 owners; No Reserve Auction!!!

Unique Daimler Double-Six Coupe for sale! Only 472 were ever built of this model, Daimler being the more up-market sister company to Jaguar; Jaguar built some more of this model. This model was never officially imported to the US; this one came from England (right hand drive!). It originally came with a 5.3l V12 engine and a Borg-Warner 3-speed automatic transmission.

26 years ago, I had this car restored and painted Jaguar Claret metallic; I also had it extensively modified without changing the timeless beauty of the exterior:

The engine was blue printed, the displacement was enlarged to 7.3 liter via bigger bores and longer stroke (thanks to the second to last drop-forged crankshaft of a batch of 20 ever made). The cylinder heads were completely reworked with bigger valves and camshafts. All internals were upgraded for performance and durability. Lighter flywheel, bigger air intakes (retaining standard look) The fuel injection was upgraded to Series Three level with upgraded injectors and upgraded fuel pumps (one per tank).

The engine was tuned for low-end torque over peak horse power and dyno tested at: 420 bhp @ 4800 rpm and 500 lb-ft @ 3255 rpm (even at 1900 rpm it makes 435 lb-ft!)

The car was converted to a new manual GETRAG 265 5-speed transmission. The suspension was upgraded with adjustable Spax shocks, 25% upgraded front springs, thicker front sway bar, solid rack mounts, adjustable power steering upgrade kit. The rear brakes were modified to accommodate the front brake calipers and disks; the front was converted to AP-Racing brakes with much larger calipers and the biggest disks that fit into the TWR racing wheels (the only change in appearance). A/C was deleted and the battery was moved into the trunk in order to achieve a better weight balance.

The body had a bare metal restauration. The car was a riot to drive, it can cruise or spin the rear wheels in third gear… I learned very fast to be rather respectful of the power on tab, at any rpm. It’s blisteringly fast, due to the lightened flywheel the engine revs extremely easily, and being naturally aspirated the throttle response is immediate at any rpm, and the available torque never ceases to amaze (this side of electric cars!). The best things are: people never see it coming and the glorious twelve-cylinder sound! The brakes are rock solid and have no problem handling the power. I drove it on weekends over the period of one year, then we moved from London (UK) to Sarasota and brought the car with us.

That’s where the sad part of the story begins: it wouldn’t start (I assume now because the fuel octane was too low, 93, whereas the engine runs on 98 octane unleaded. I wasn’t clear on what to do next, so I put fuel preserver into both tanks which had been rubber-lined like air plane tanks during the restauration. The fuel preserver dissolved the rubber lining over time and turned it into gooey mess. Life changed and the car moved further and further away from focus, on the other hand I always wanted to get it running again. That didn’t happen, instead 24 years have passed and the car looks like it had never been restored, with a unique drive train that has barely 3000 miles on it. This car deserves a better home!

I am the third owner; I have all original documentation of the car beginning with the original dealer invoice to the first owner. I have extensive documentation of the restoration and the engine work by Rob Beere Engineering, the foremost Jaguar race engine builder at the time (they ran the same engine with bigger bore (8-liter) at around 800+ bhp very successfully in an e-type race car).

Please contact me, Jens, with any questions at 941 266 3578.

Happy bidding!!

On May-12-25 at 16:50:42 PDT, seller added the following information:

Tires are brand new, 0 miles on them. I purchased the Getrag transmission new from a BMW dealer because I didn't want to take the risk of a used transmission. This type of transmission was recommended by Rob Beere for this application because it is surprisingly strong.