Tuesday 20th April 1897

Ernest Estcourt took delivery of the first ‘production’ car from the Daimler Motor Company, Coventry and drove it home to Hampstead in London. His journey took 10.5 hours, including stops for meals, water and fuel. The 1897 Daimlers were Panhard-type with front-mounted vertical-twin engines, automatic inlet valves, a sliding gear box with four forward speeds and a reverse chain drive. Prices started from £398.