ALLEY CAT

The Daimler XJ 6 is one of those cars that every owner seems to experience differently.

Daimler XJ 6

40 years after the last Daimler rolled off the proverbial conveyor belt, we find ourselves on the road to Matt Hopper’s residence where his gloriously maintained and looked after Daimler XK6 resides. It is a mild March day in Melbourne and we arrive in the recently gentrified inner city suburb of Cremorne. Matt’s car is stored in a garage which is located in the same building as his workplace. Whilst an inner-city warehouse studio may not be the location one would expect to find a large, British sedan, it does provide the 1 tonne ‘alley cat’ with a sense of purposefulness and cool.

Though not as purpose-built as the E-Type and D-Type Jaguars, which with the same 4.2 XK engine as the Daimler won Le Mans, the Daimler XJ 6 has its own provenance as the superior version to the standard XJ 6 model. Board members would receive a brand-new Jaguar whilst the chairman of Jaguar received the keys to the upmarket, expensive and boutique model called the Daimler!

The Daimler XJ 6 is one of those cars that every owner seems to experience differently. Keep it polished in the garage as a piece of art, throw a picnic hamper in the boot and head off to the Yarra Valley for a picturesque and romantic weekend, or just enjoy what it represents, what its relatives have done.

We can hear the slight burble of Matt’s Daimler once he reverses it from the garage. We’ve chosen to meet in Cremorne to search for potential side streets and alley ways that may be perfect as an urban backdrop for the unassuming cat. Matt, myself and Vito greet each other and before we enter the car we quickly land on one of our mutually favourite topics, the choice of music when driving a classic car!

Being a child of the eighties, both Matt and the HWY team wax lyrical about the cars reference to the eighties and we explore Matt’s nostalgia for music from this era [British in particular!] which graces the cars after-market stereo on regular occasions. Songs such as The Smiths, ‘The Queen is Dead’ can be heard echoing through the streets of Cremorne! Matt is fully aware of this irony given that the Daimler was originally bought for the Governor of Tasmania with the purpose of being used for Queen Elizabeth’s royal tour in Tasmania in 1981!

As we move onto the subject of his Daimler, Matt tells us that he bought it several months ago, and that the restoration of the engine and the overall vehicle was to the tune of $20,000. These improvements were made by the previous owner and was one of the reasons [given the trouble that Jaguars are associated with] that he chose this particular car over a couple that he had looked at previously.

The NSW doctor who had sold the Daimler to Matt had purchased the car himself from a deceased estate Jaguar collector who had owned one of each of the XJ series. Whilst the existing restoration had covered a good percentage of the vehicles parts including a rebuilt engine and an improved GM Turbo 700 transmission, Matt has spent an additional $6000 in the short period he has taken ownership of the car. He confesses to both Vito and I that the work is never truly done, like infinitely halving the distance to the finish line. But, it’s not a bad thing. It keeps him invested, connected, interested and in tune with the car.

The time to leave the local precinct of Cremorne has come, and the sun is still visible. We need to change the location and let this big cat run through the streets of Melbourne. A visit to Melbourne’s Botanical Gardens, was a wonderful way to awaken the car, as it’s not the first time it’s been here. Matt tells me that it’s a circuit that he loves to do alone, hypnotized by the reflection of the graceful old feline in the surrounding areas shop windows. As he tours around the neighbourhood he knows so well, both of us catch him smiling wider and wider with each turn. This is a happy man.

After a quick tour of the Botanical Gardens we stop in a magical tree lined street, blessed by a warm and delicate sunshine. As Vito is shooting I ask Matt what he would buy regardless of budget, and though he ponders the question claiming that it would be fun to imagine owning a D-Type, it’s important to remember to enjoy what we already have. Matt appears to be pretty chuffed to have managed to acquire the Daimler given his current circumstances.

“My partner and I are planning to get married and we’re trying to have a baby so I was desperate to get a classic car in the garage before that part of my life took over!” He speaks with bold honesty and conviction, no uncertainty, and knows that from many of his best friends that it’s not easy to be looking at an expensive classic once you’ve got a family in tow.

Despite the purchase coming before his impending nuptials and fatherly duties, he chose to quickly slip an engagement ring on his partner whilst advising her the he’d, “just purchased their wedding car!” Smooth operator is Matt and I’m sure that he has other dream cars, but currently he’s more than content to enjoy the moments he has with the one that sits in his garage instead of his head.

Achieving this happiness didn’t come easy and Matt had experienced several obstacles and barriers before an eventual ownership took place. The road to ownership, in particular a wasted trip to Ballarat, saw Matt becoming disgruntled and desperate given his requisite timeline. An original, low kilometre XJ 6 from Ballarat was Matt’s original choice but on delivering the cheque to the current owner, he was met with a disappointing surprise. The owners’ son had decided that he wanted the car and to disappoint Matt even further, had expressed his interest in putting a 350 Chev engine into his fathers’ car!

Not one to let an episode like this get in the way of happiness, Matt is more than content with his lot in life. There are many less fortunate people who would derive a good deal of pleasure from this cobalt blue with biscuit interior, champion of the highway! What other vehicle for the purchase price of $12,000 has leather trim, a wooden dashboard and opera lights for the rear passengers!?

After another round of photos, we retreat back slowly through the city and on our way, back to Cremorne.

The three of us are tired, yet content and we have experienced that happiness that comes from driving a classic car. Is it materialistic to extract joy from material things? It can be but Matt is not that type of person.

His love for the Daimler is evident through a variety of gestures [which include driving gloves, club plates, European fog lights and Jaguar badges] that reflect his passion and devotion to the marque.

If his adoration for the Jaguar brand is anything to go by we may just see that mythical D-Type in Matt’s garage one day…