Napier Classic Car Tours
  • Home
  • Cars
    • Ford Model A (1928) "Buttercup"
    • Daimler Conquest (1954) "Queenie"
    • Chevrolet Independence (1931) 'Millie'
  • Tours
    • Art Deco City Tours
    • Napier Cruise Shore Excursions
    • Vintage Car Sightseeing Tours
    • Wine Tasting Tours
    • Minibus Tours from TourNapier
  • Weddings
    • Book Wedding Cars
  • Gift Vouchers
  • Contact
  • About

Daimler Conquest (1954) 'Queenie'

PictureThe Royal Fleet in Wellington, 1954. Queenie is one of the four Daimler Conquests seen in the back row.
Now you can truly travel like royalty. Back in 1954, 'Queenie' was one of the official cars used for the Royal Tour of New Zealand - less than a year after the young Princess Elizabeth became Queen. 

Onlookers will watch enviously as you regally waft by. They may not guess at the car's royal history, but the registration plate 'I HRH I' is sure to turn a few heads! Let the chauffeur take the strain as you sink back, relax and enjoy the Daimler's classic interior resplendent with quality leather seats and genuine walnut interior trim. ​

Please note Queenie is licensed to carry a maximum of four passengers. Queenie's rear seat width is  130cm/51 inches

Queenie in Napier

The Royal Tour of New Zealand 1954


Mainly for Anoraks

Original 1954 Daimler advertisements for the Conquest
Daimler ad (1954)
Daimler ad (1954)
Daimler ad (1954)

What world events happened in 1954?

  • Jan 8th - Elvis Presley pays $4 to a Memphis studio & records his 1st two songs, "Casual Love" & "I'll Never Stand in Your Way"
  • Jan 12th - Queen Elizabeth II opens NZ parliament
  • Feb 2nd - President Eisenhower reports detonation of 1st H-bomb (done in 1952)
  • Feb 10th - Eisenhower warns against US intervention in Vietnam
  • Feb 28th - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island
  • Mar 4th - Peter Bent of Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts announces the world's first successful kidney transplant
  • Mar 25th - 26th Academy Awards - "From Here to Eternity" best film, William Holden & Audrey Hepburn best actor/actress
  • Apr 5th - Elvis Presley records his debut single "That's All Right"
  • Apr 7th - German government refuses to recognize DDR
  • Apr 12th - Bill Haley & Comets records "Rock Around Clock"
  • May 6th - Roger Bannister of Britain breaks 4 minute mile (3:59:4)
  • May 7th - US, Great Britain & France reject Russian membership of NATO

  • May 24th - IBM announces vacuum tube "electronic" brain that could perform 10 million operations an hour
  • Jun 27th - 1st atomic power station opens (Obninsk, near Moscow, Russia)
  • Jul 3rd - Food rationing ends in Britain
  • Jul 4th - FIFA World Cup: West Germany defeats Hungary 3-2 for football's 5th World Cup in Bern
  • Jul 28th - "On the Waterfront", starring Marlon Brando, is released
    Jul 29th - Publication of "Fellowship of the Ring" 1st volume of "Lord of the Rings" by J. R. R. Tolkien by George Allen and Unwin in London
  • Nov 26th - Test Cricket debut of Colin Cowdrey v Australia at Gabba
  • Dec 4th - The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, USA
  • Dec 23rd - The first human kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
Daimler Conquest
The Daimler Conquest DJ250 is a series of automobiles which was produced by The Daimler Company Limited in the United Kingdom from 1953 to 1958. Based on the Lanchester Fourteen, the Conquest replaced the Daimler Consort. Sales were affected by increasing prices and by the fuel shortage caused by the Suez Crisis, and production ended by 1958. The standard 1953 Conquest used a straight-six engine developed from the inline-four engine used in Lanchester's Fourteen and Leda models. The engine was made from cast iron and had a single Zenith carburettor and a compression ratio of 6.6:1. With a bore of 76.2 mm (3.00 in) and a stroke of 88.9 mm (3.50 in), the engine displaced 2,433 cc (2.433 L; 148.5 cu in) and delivered 75 bhp (56 kW).

The body was a slightly modified version of that used on the earlier Lanchester Fourteen. Apart from the grille, The Conquest was identical in appearance to the Lanchester Leda. While the Fourteen had been coachbuilt of steel on a timber frame, the Leda had an all-steel body, on which the Conquest's was based. Lanchester was a subsidiary of Daimler. The whole car appeared to have been developed within four months of Bernard Docker, then managing director of BSA, taking on the additional responsibility of managing director of Daimler in January 1953.

Presented as a new car, the 75 hp (1953–1956) Daimler Conquest saloon chassis and running gear had originated in the 1950 Lanchester Fourteen or Leda. The usual Daimler large cruciform chassis had a double wishbone front suspension, with laminated torsion bars, telescopic dampers, and an anti-roll bar, while the rear suspension used leaf springs with telescopic dampers. The Conquest featured automatic chassis lubrication to 21 points, using a pump controlled by exhaust heat.

Cam and peg steering was used, and Girling hydro-mechanical brakes. (Hydro - mechanical = hydraulic front, mechanical rear brakes.) The cars had an 2,642 mm (104 in) wheelbase.

View our CARS
Booking enquiries

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Home
Cars
Weddings
Tours

​Links
Contact 
​Privacy Policy
© 2018 Napier Classic Cars
  • Home
  • Cars
    • Ford Model A (1928) "Buttercup"
    • Daimler Conquest (1954) "Queenie"
    • Chevrolet Independence (1931) 'Millie'
  • Tours
    • Art Deco City Tours
    • Napier Cruise Shore Excursions
    • Vintage Car Sightseeing Tours
    • Wine Tasting Tours
    • Minibus Tours from TourNapier
  • Weddings
    • Book Wedding Cars
  • Gift Vouchers
  • Contact
  • About