Daimler Dk 400 'golden Zebra' Coupé

Art or kitsch? Visitors to the 1955 London Earls Court Motor Show can decide for themselves when they see this Daimler on the stand of coachbuilder Hooper, with its gilded trim, zebra hide seat upholstery, ivory (!) dashboard and zebra radiator mascot.

Kitsch or art? The visitors to the 1955 Earls Court Motor Show in London may decide for themselves when they see this Daimler on the stand of coachbuilder Hooper, with its gilded trim, zebra hide seat upholstery, ivory (!) dashboard and zebra radiator mascot. The car is a creation of Lady Docker, a former nightclub dancer who, after two earlier marriages to millionaires, married Sir Bernard Docker in 1949, the chairman of BSA, which owns Daimler. Lady Docker believes that the Daimler brand is not well enough known and needs to work on its reputation. She sets herself up as a stylist and, starting in 1951, has Hooper design a very extravagant show model every year. This is the 1955 model, the Golden Zebra, which, in addition to the extras mentioned above, is also fitted with a cocktail bar, picnic set, leather luggage set and extensive (ivory) make up kit. The BSA board, however, grows tired of the flamboyant, money devouring lifestyle of the Dockers, especially since England is still far from recovered after the war. Sir Bernard is removed from the board. The cars are stripped of their superfluous decorations and sold. The Golden Zebra then passes through various owners and is restored to its original condition between 1998 and 2006. Zebra hides are imported from Kenya for the upholstery. Naturally, the dashboard is no longer made of ivory, but of a combination of satinwood and sycamore. After the BSA period, Sir Bernard and Lady Docker are banished from jet set life and gradually lose more and more of their possessions. They spent their final days in a bungalow on Jersey, on the run from the tax authorities.