DAF 55
Encyclopedia
The DAF 55 is a small family car produced by the Dutch company DAF
from December 1967 to September 1972. At that time it was replaced with the DAF 66
.
All 55s featured the unique Variomatic
belt-driven continuously variable transmission
, with no manual transmission available. This feature of all DAF cars was very unusual for its class at the time.
The 55 was available as a 2-door saloon, a 3-door estate and a 2-door coupe.
In total 164.231 DAF 55s have been built.
. The redesign was extensive, and featured the following major changes:
The rest of the car featured detail trim changes to set it apart from the lesser 44.
All this heightened performance to a 136 km/h top speed, and made for a more practical car.
In September 1968 the estate version became available.
In August 1969 there was a minor facelift of the whole model range and a delivery version became available, essentially a 55 estate without a rear seat. After the succes of the DAF 55 in the London-Sydney Marathon, the dealer option 'Marathon' package was introduced. The package meant that the dealer fitted an uprated suspension, and parts to upgrade the B110 engine to 65 bhp.
In 1971 the factory version of this package was introduced, simply called the 55 Marathon. This did not feature an upgraded suspension, and had a 63 bhp 1108 cc engine, the BR110. This raised the top speed to 145 km/h. The 55 Marathon featured wider steel wheels, exterior striping and a brake booster
was added for safety and comfort. The Marathon was available as a saloon or a coupe.
In 1971 the coupe received normal doors with pillars, since the earlier pillarless design proved to be leaky and noisy at speed.
A 55 won the 1968 Alpine Rally, and in late 1968 Rob Slotemaker finished 17th out of 100 contestants in the grueling 16500 km London-Sydney Marathon. This remarkable succes inspired the later 'Marathon' range offered by DAF.
Because of the Variomatic and its function as a limited slip differential
it was also popular with many privateers in the rally world.
Jan de Rooy, of Paris Dakar fame, built his own 4-wheel drive version, with a mid mounted Ford BDA engine coupled to a special Variomatic, and campaigned it with great succes on the international rallycross
theatre throughout the early 1970's.
DAF Trucks
DAF Trucks NV is a Dutch truck manufacturing company and a division of PACCAR. Its headquarters and main plant are in Eindhoven. Cabs and axle assemblies are produced at its Westerlo plant in Belgium...
from December 1967 to September 1972. At that time it was replaced with the DAF 66
DAF 66
The DAF 66 is a small family car produced by the Dutch company DAF from September 1972 to 1976. It was the successor of the DAF 55 and was itself superseded by the reworked Volvo 66...
.
Variomatic
Variomatic is the stepless, fully automatic transmission of the Dutch car manufacturer DAF, originally developed by Hub van Doorne: this consists of a "V" shaped drive belt and two pulleys, each of two cones, whose effective diameter can be changed so that the "V" belt runs nearer the spindle or...
belt-driven continuously variable transmission
Continuously variable transmission
A continuously variable transmission is a transmission that can change steplessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that offer a fixed number of gear ratios...
, with no manual transmission available. This feature of all DAF cars was very unusual for its class at the time.
The 55 was available as a 2-door saloon, a 3-door estate and a 2-door coupe.
In total 164.231 DAF 55s have been built.
Origins
The 55 was developed to be a more powerful version of the 1966 DAF 44DAF 44
The DAF 44 is a small family car that was introduced in September 1966 by the Dutch company DAF. It was the first car to be built at the company's new plant at Born in Limburg...
. The redesign was extensive, and featured the following major changes:
- Powertrain
- Because the 44's two-cylinder DAF-designed boxer engine was at the end of its development, DAF partnered with RenaultRenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
to build a 50 bhp version of their 1108 cc water-cooled inline 4 C-seriesRenault Cléon engineThe Cléon engine was a 5-bearing straight-4 automobile engine from Renault. Introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1962 with the Renault Floride S, the engine was a development of the 3-bearing Ventoux engine from the 1950s. It is an overhead valve design and in Renault tradition, features "wet"...
engine, dubbed the B110.
- Because the 44's two-cylinder DAF-designed boxer engine was at the end of its development, DAF partnered with Renault
- Suspension
- The front suspension was changed from the 44's transverse leaf springLeaf springOriginally called laminated or carriage spring, a leaf spring is a simple form of spring, commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles...
setup to longitudinally mounted torsion bars. At the rear the 44's swing axleSwing axleA swing axle is a simple type of independent suspension first used in early aircraft , such as the Sopwith and Fokker, usually with rubber bungee and no damping....
Variomatic layout was retained.
- The front suspension was changed from the 44's transverse leaf spring
- Braking
- For added safety a dual circuit brake system was fitted. All models also featured front disk brakes as opposed to the 44's drum brakes.
- Bodywork
- The front panel was changed to provide room and airflow to the radiator.
The rest of the car featured detail trim changes to set it apart from the lesser 44.
All this heightened performance to a 136 km/h top speed, and made for a more practical car.
Model Chronology
The saloon was launched at the end of 1967, with the coupe version launched three months later, in March 1968. The coupe was overall more elegant than the saloon, featuring a more elegant roof line, pillarless doors and a more upscale interior featuring reclining seats, carpet instead of the saloon's rubber mats and fake wood on the dashboard. Although the roof line turned it from a 4-seater into a 2+2, the coupe was a very successful model; 1 in 8 sold DAF 55s was a coupe.In September 1968 the estate version became available.
In August 1969 there was a minor facelift of the whole model range and a delivery version became available, essentially a 55 estate without a rear seat. After the succes of the DAF 55 in the London-Sydney Marathon, the dealer option 'Marathon' package was introduced. The package meant that the dealer fitted an uprated suspension, and parts to upgrade the B110 engine to 65 bhp.
In 1971 the factory version of this package was introduced, simply called the 55 Marathon. This did not feature an upgraded suspension, and had a 63 bhp 1108 cc engine, the BR110. This raised the top speed to 145 km/h. The 55 Marathon featured wider steel wheels, exterior striping and a brake booster
Brake booster
A Brake booster is an enhanced master cylinder setup used to reduce the amount of pedal pressure needed for braking. It employs a booster set up to act with the master cylinder to give higher hydraulic pressure to the brakes and/or lower force applied on the brake pedal...
was added for safety and comfort. The Marathon was available as a saloon or a coupe.
In 1971 the coupe received normal doors with pillars, since the earlier pillarless design proved to be leaky and noisy at speed.
Motorsport
The DAF factory was very involved in motorsport, to show the world that the Variomatic transmission could reliable as well as sporty. The 55 relieved the 44 in the works rally program, and had various successes.A 55 won the 1968 Alpine Rally, and in late 1968 Rob Slotemaker finished 17th out of 100 contestants in the grueling 16500 km London-Sydney Marathon. This remarkable succes inspired the later 'Marathon' range offered by DAF.
Because of the Variomatic and its function as a limited slip differential
Limited slip differential
A limited slip differential is a type of differential gear arrangement that allows for some difference in angular velocity of the output shafts, but imposes a mechanical bound on the disparity...
it was also popular with many privateers in the rally world.
Jan de Rooy, of Paris Dakar fame, built his own 4-wheel drive version, with a mid mounted Ford BDA engine coupled to a special Variomatic, and campaigned it with great succes on the international rallycross
Rallycross
Rallycross is a form of sprint style automobile racing, held on a closed mixed-surface racing circuit, with modified production or specially built road cars, similar to the World Rally Cars, although usually with about stronger engines, due to e.g. their 45 mm turbo restrictor plates. It is...
theatre throughout the early 1970's.