Nowadays London's Metropolitan Police can call upon cars like the Mitsubishi Evo and Subaru Impreza for use as high-speed pursuit cars, but in the Sixties traffic cops had to make do with Ford Anglias and Hillman Imps. These were not much use when combating criminals driving cars that could exceed 100mph so the Met made the decision to acquire a fleet of high speed cars of their own.

The first of these will hit the auction block of Historics at Brooklands on October 22 giving some lucky punter the chance to own a piece of history. The car in question is a Daimler SP250 'Dart' that Scotland Yard took delivery of in November of 1962. Powered by a 2.5-litre V8 producing 140bhp the SP250 had a top speed of 130mph meaning it could easily keep pace and catch getaway cars of the day and a group of motorcyclists who got their jollies by driving 110mph through urban areas. The first car was so successful that a further 25 were purchased by the Met Police to bolster its high-speed arsenal.

Upon retiring from the service the original SP250 went on to be used as a course car at Goodwood Revival events and received a complete restoration, yet retains much of its police equipment including the chrome Winkworth bell, the noise of which would strike fear into the hearts of criminals.

Paul Healy - 12 Oct 2011