It’s pokey, frugal and well put together. It’s great to drive too

There’s no shortage of fast British roadsters from which to choose if you’re after a desirable classic. The problem for many is that most decent Brit sportsters are rather predictable, but there are exceptions, and the Daimler SP250 is often overlooked. Perhaps it’s because of the rarity; with just 2645 built during a five-year production run, there aren’t many to go round.

Whatever the grounds for the SP250 being overlooked, there are plenty more reasons why you want one – not least of all the performance on offer. There’s also no body rot to worry about – the glassfibre shell is tougher than most and rarely needs any significant TLC. Unless the car has been really neglected it’s unlikely that you’ll spend much on keeping an SP250 going – they’re strong and with superb parts availability it’s never an issue getting the bits you need.

The SP250 made its debut in April 1959 at the New York auto show, where it was unveiled as the Dart. But Dodge had already registered the name and started throwing its toys out of the pram – forcing Daimler to come up with the rather bland SP250 moniker instead. After some minor bits of re-engineering the car made its debut at the October 1959 Earls Court motor show, where it was announced that 7500 would be sold in the first three years. Production would then settle at the rate of 3000 a year, the bulk of cars going to the US. In the event, fewer than 3000 cars were made in a five-year production span, with just 1200 left-hand drive editions being produced. The car may have been a failure in its day, but it only makes for a less predictable and thoroughly desirable classic now.

Even though many reckon the SP250 is ugly, that doesn’t stop demand outstripping supply to a massive degree. Although most buyers want something really nice that needs nothing doing, values of all cars are high. Even a complete box of parts will cost at least £6000; expect to pay at least double this for a usable car that’s a bit tatty. Really nice SP250s cost at least £16,000 while a superb example is around the £25,000 mark. The best (exceptional) cars are now changing hands for around £30,000 – and there’s every sign of values creeping even higher.

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