The Daimler TE30 Cranmore Landaulette was catalogued at £910 although this particular car is said to have cost £1,100. It is believed to have been exhibited in St. Petersburg but evidently failed to find a Russian buyer, as it was registered to a Mr Marvin in the Isle of Wight. After his death, the car was laid up until his widow died in 1952. Threatened by the scrap merchant, the car was fortunately rescued and was bought by Mr Eric Whiteway in 1954.

In 2000, Mr Whiteway finally decided to sell the car to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, where it joined one of only two other surviving TE30 models.

Two factors helped to establish the Daimler marque. Firstly, the granting of the Royal Warrant, as King Edward VII bought a Daimler car, an example followed also by other members of the Royal family. Secondly, the introduction in 1908 of the double sleeve valve engine, invented by Charles Yale Knight. This engine offered remarkable silence and refinement compared to ordinary poppet valve engines at the time – if at a sometimes alarming rate of oil consumption, and the emission of a great deal of smoke!

In 1910, the Daimler Company was taken over by the BSA Group, small arms, cycle and motorcycle manufacturers of Birmingham. This provided Daimler with financial stability, and BSA allowed Daimler to continue and expand its product range. By the time that the First World War broke out, Daimler was one of Britain’s leading car manufacturers, with 5,000 workers and an output of 1,000 cars in 1913.

As was typical of the period, the company made a wide range of cars, although the 1913 range was reduced from seven to five models. Three of these were four-cylinder cars, ranging from 3.3 to 6.3 litres, while the six-cylinder TE30 of 5 litres had a 6.9-litre stable mate, the new 40hp. Even larger 57hp cars were made to order for the Royal Household. Daimler usually made their own bodywork, which often had British place names.