Since being taken over by Daimler in 1931, the once-distinctive Lanchester marque had become little more than a ‘badge-enineered’ cheaper Daimler.
This was in many way a tragic decline, as Lanchester was, from its beginning at the turn of the century, remarkable for its quality and innovative design. Lanchester had never believed in doing things just because that was the way others did them. The products of this philosophy was a range of cars that were brilliantly different, owning absolutely nothing to the horse-drawn carriage other than the shape of the wheels! In some ways this militated against the marque, as car-buyers in those days were just as cautions as they are today in accepting anything different from the norm — even if it makes perfect sense.
By the 1920s Lanchesters were much more conventional in style, and were every bit as magnificent as their rivals from Daimler, Rolls-Royce, Napier, Hispano-Suiza and the like. At one stage they were the most expensive cars in the world, and several Lanchesters joined the Daimlers in the Royal Mews, and in the garages of Indian Maharajahs.
The Depression, however, drastically shrank the market for luxury cars, and Lanchester found itself the target of a takeover by the BSA group (Daimler’s parent company since 1910). The takeover gave Daimler much-needed technological know-how for the design of its own forthcoming Straight Eight engines, as well as a stable-mate marque to place between the BSA and Daimler ranges.
After the Second War, however, badge-engineering was cast aside, and Lanchester suddenly gained an identity all its own — although a far cry from the luxury monsters of the twenties. In 1946 the LD-10 was announced: a quality small four-door saloon with a 10hp 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine. Despite its small size, however, it still included all the Daimler refinements such as fluid flywheel, preselector transmission, and quality fittings.
In 1949 the LD-10’s body became the responsibility of Daimler’s in-house coachbuilders, Baker & Co. The car now wore an aluminum four-light body, which continued in production until 1951. Two two-door dropheads were also made, of which one survives today in England.
TP
