EMANCIPATION RUN RETURNS
Veteran Car Run returns for 125th anniversary after rare hiatus
EAST SUSSEX LONDON TO BRIGHTON VETERAN CAR RUN MADEIRA DRIVE, BRIGHTON BN2 1TB. 7 NOVEMBER.
One hundred and twenty five years ago, Harry Lawson’s newly founded Motoring Club of Britain, the first car club in the UK, celebrated the passing into law of the 1896 Light Locomotives on the Highway Act by driving 60 miles from London to Brighton. The run hasn’t happened every year since, but 2020 was the first break in more than 70 years. Good news, though – it’s back!
More than 300 of the oldest cars in the country – and a good number from overseas too – will attempt the 60-mile drive this year, showcasing the massive variety of motor vehicles that existed around the turn of the 20th century.
Ben Cussons, chairman of the Royal Automobile Club, said: ‘It’s this extraordinary mix of all these pioneering brands that makes this such an incredible, unique event. Technology was advancing in leaps and bounds as ambitious engineers found exciting new solutions to all aspects of the automobile: engines, transmissions, chassis, steering. By the end of 1904, some of these cars were incredibly advanced.’
You can watch the run almost anywhere; the official checkpoints are the start in Hyde Park, a halfway stop in Crawley and the finish on Madeira Drive, where the cars go on display for a couple of hours.
The attractions aren’t limited to the run: on the Saturday, the Regent Street Motor Show hosts a concours event for 100 of the cars, and RM Sotheby’s is hosting an auction in Pall Mall, also on Saturday 6.