MOTOR CARS | 177The Dockers too suffered a similar decline; running out of money,
they were expelled from their Monaco residence and for a while
lived on Jersey, having sold their yacht and Hampshire estate. Sir
Bernard died in a nursing home in 1978 and Norah, who spent her
final years living in the Great Western Hotel, Paddington, in 1983,
almost penniless.
By this time, ‘Stardust’ had enjoyed a miraculous rebirth. Found
abandoned on a Welsh farm with a frost-damaged cylinder block,
the car was fully restored to show condition in 1980. Geoffrey
Francis, the heraldic artist who had worked on the car in 1954,
was commissioned to reapply the stars to the coachwork. By this
time, of course, crocodiles had become an endangered species, so
blue-dyed lizard skin – a Norah Docker favourite - was used instead
for the interior trim. Wonderfully redolent of the 1950s, an age when
excess still had the capacity to shock, this uniquely stylish piece of
Daimler history is worthy of the closest inspection.
Stardust was acquired from the renowned Blackhawk museum
by a previous owner in the 1980s and subsequently imported into
Japan. The present Japanese owner acquired the Daimler in the
1990s. The car was started occasionally but has not been driven
on public roads. We are aware the brakes require attention and the
Daimler will need re-commissiong prior to road use.Should the vehicle remain in the EU, local import taxes of 5% will be
applied to the hammer price.
£130,000 - 160,000
€160,000 - 200,000