Daimler & Hooper
Daimler had been the British royal family’s favourite make since the early 1900s. The chairman of Daimler, Sir Bernard Docker appointed his wife, Norah Docker as Director of Hooper, which was part of the Daimler group.
Lady Docker
Sir Bernard Docker was Nora’s third husband. She started her career as a dancer in a nightclub and worked her way up to become one of the most famous society figures in Great Britain. As the wife of Sir Bernard she became Lady Docker. Once she had assumed responsibility for Daimler’s design department she commissioned Hooper to come up with a design to improve Daimler’s otherwise rather staid image. She made headlines with a series of 5 show cars that became known as the ‘Docker Daimlers’. These were the Gold Car in 1951, the Blue Clover in 1952, the Silver Flash in 1953, the Stardust in 1954 and finally the Golden Zebra in 1955.
The most extravagant of all
The series of ‘Docker Daimlers’ culminated in the ‘Golden Zebra’, a voluptuous extravagance on the on the 4.6 litre six-cylinder DK400 limousine chassis. The body was painted in ivory white cellulose and all the trim pieces were plated in gold. Gold plate and ivory is used in the interior, and zebra skin was chosen for the upholstery of the seats and doors. The boot contains rawhide suitcases with Bramah locks. All cocktail and toilet accessories are in ivory, cut-glass and gold. There is even a gilt umbrella in the car.
The end of an era
The Golden Zebra was the final car in the series of Docker Daimlers. Shortly after its introduction, the Dockers were removed from the board of directors. This had do with the cost of Sir Bernard and Lady Docker’s extravagant lifestyle that they tried to write off as business expenses. Attempts to convince the shareholders that the expenses were good for Daimler’s image failed miserably. An absolute low point was reached in 1956. Just before they were due to attend the wedding of Prince Rainier of Monaco and Grace Kelly, they were ordered to return their cars.
Come and see the Daimler DK400 Golden Zebra for yourself!
