Regent Street Motor Show
Fresh Veterans including Cadillac prepare for Brighton Run
This year’s Regent Street Motor Show saw several veteran cars make their static show debuts before embarking on the annual London-brighton Veteran Car Run, while a Jaguar display celebrated several significant model anniversaries.
1904 MMC
This swing-seat tonneau produced by the Motor Manufacturing Company was not only making its Run debut but also turning a wheel after 106 years.
‘It’s a 1904 model but my great-grandfather Arthur bought it in 1905 as bankrupt stock,’ says Jon Archer. ‘It was operated by my grandfather as the first taxi in Dunmow, Essex, and then laid up at the family motor car and bicycle business in 1912. My father took over the business, and diversified into vintage and veteran car restoration during the late Sixties. He planned to fix up the MMC and it became his retirement project, but sadly he died shortly after the closure of his business.’
Jonathan Wood, fellow restorer and Archer family friend, introduced them to veteran enthusiast Bernard Holmes, who was willing to buy the car and fund the restoration work it needed.
Says Stewart Parkes, who works for Wood, ‘The chassis and running gear was complete and in remarkably good condition, although some parts had been requisitioned for the War effort. The body was missing, but we still have the original registration document that states it was blue with a white coachline. We rebuilt the original single-cylinder engine, and were able to retain the steering wheel, the gauges and the drip-feed oiler.’
Says Jon Archer, ‘It’s been quite an emotional moment to see the car finally running. Jonathan Wood started out apprenticing for my family’s restoration business, and the car still lives in Essex.’
1904 Cadillac
This recently-restored Cadillac runabout was being run for the first time since its owner Sheldon Marne bought it 40 years ago, ‘I’ve kept it in storage in North Carolina all this time. Eight months ago I sent it to my friend Jim Clark in Yorkshire, UK – he restores cars like this as a hobby. He had a joiner remake the body, which is all wood apart from the bonnet, and re-leathered the interior. Thankfully, the chassis was rust-free.
‘I was orphaned during the war so cars of the Fifties and Sixties don’t bring back happy memories. I prefer veterans for their primitive nature – they remind me of simpler times.’
1897 Panhard-levassor
This 1897 Panhard-levassor Charette Anglaise was entered in the 2014 event, but this year was driven by the original manufacturer’s grandson, Robert Panhard. ‘I have owned the car for 18 years, and I am only the third owner. It was ordered new in July 1897 by Count Bozon de Perigord, who was a Panhard racer, then in 1900 he sold it to the Jorrand family, from whom I bought it in 2010. This car is quite significant – it was the last model designed by Émile Levassor before he died. It was his ultimate car.’ Levassor suffered catastrophic injuries in a 1896 race, but continued developing new models until finally succumbing to complications from his injuries in April 1897.
1991 Jaguar XJ Sovereign 4.0
This low-mileage, 4.0-litre XJ40 Sovereign was on public display for the first time as part of the Jaguar XJ’S 50th anniversary celebrations. Says owner Anthony Kearsley, ‘It was bought new by a British lady who had taken up primary residence in Monaco. She used it to travel between London and Monaco – it’s currently showing 28,000 miles.’