Jaguar's acquisition of the Daimler concern in 1960 brought with it the latter's splendid lightweight and compact V8 engine, designed by Edward Turner for the SP250 Daimler Dart. The 2.5-litre, only thirty inches in length and developing 140bhp @ 5,800 rpm, proved superior the Jaguar's 2.4-litre straight-six XK unit, and the opportunity was taken to create an up-market Daimler variant on the MkII saloon using this unit. With only minor modification to the inlet and exhaust manifolds in order the fit the MkII body, the new model was launched in 1962 as the 2 1/2-litre V8, fitted with Borg Warner Type 35 automatic transmission as standard. The 2 1/2 V8 turned out to be a fine performer, its 110mph top speed exceeding that of the overdrive 2.4-litre Jaguar Mk II by some margin. The 1967 introduction of the Jaguar 240/340 'updates' also saw the Daimler renamed as the V8 250. Just 13,018 V8 models were produced between 1962 and 1968.