Daimler Majestic
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| Daimler Majestic | |
| Manufacturer: | Daimler Motor Company<tr><th>Production:<td>1958–1962</tr><tr><th>Predecessor:<td>Daimler 104</tr><tr><th>Successor:<td>Daimler Majestic Major</tr><tr><th>Class:<td>Executive</tr><tr><th>Body style:<td>Four door Saloon</tr><tr><th>Engine:<td>3.8 litre in-line 6</tr><tr><th>Transmission:<td>automatic</tr><tr><th>Wheelbase:<td>114 inches 2.89 m</tr><tr><th>Length:<td>202 inches 5.13 m</tr><tr><th>Width:<td>73 inches 1.85 m</tr> |
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The Daimler Majestic 101 was introduced in 1958 and was in production until 1962. It was designed around a massive cruciform-braced box-section chassis equipped with coil-sprung independent front suspension, with a well located 'live' rear axle and four-wheel disc brakes, and using an inline six cylinder 3.8 Litre (3794cc) engine. It was based on previous Daimler sixes with pushrod operated overhead valves and retained the 107.95 millimetre (4.25 inch) stroke, but had its bore increased to 86.36 millimetres (3.4 inches) from the 82.55 millimetres (3.25 inches) of the 104. The styling of the Majestic was similar to, but wider and with smoother lines than the short lived 104 model it replaced. The body was massive and the doors were quite high with narrow windows and a rounded rear window. There were two small headlamps at each end on the front side and two fog lamps just above low-set bumpers. There were plain disc wheels.
A new Borg Warner automatic transmission, power steering and four-wheel disc brakes, vacuum-servo assisted, made it a very mechanically advanced car for its time, but it had an outdated heavy body and engine with separate chassis kept the car's mass well above more modern designs and made it difficult to manouvre despite the modern steering. The styling was already somewhat outdated when the car appeared and became increasingly dated as lighter bodies with unitary construction appeared during the Majestic's production run.
The Daimler Majestic was soon overshadowed by the Daimler Majestic Major, using the same body, but with a new 4.5 Litre V8 engine introduced in 1959, even though production continued, side by side till 1962.
