Evening Standard

Blazing the trail for the electric revolution — after 116 years

- David Williams ROAD SAFETY WRITER OF THE YEAR 2017

THE look on motorists’ faces has to be seen to believed as — in complete silence and with a turn of accelerati­on normally displayed only by sports cars — the little old Harrods delivery car takes off like a scalded cat.

With 82-year-old Len at the wheel, in formal, full-length coat, chauffeur’s cap and leather driving gloves, and sitting as high up and as exposed as in an old-fashioned carriage, he performs several loops of Trevor Square, as a white van man gapes in astonishme­nt and passers-by click their cameras.

It’s not just the alacrit y of the venerable 1901 Pope Waverley that fascinates (or the sight of its younger brother, the 1939 ‘Special’ parked nearby), that catches the eye. It’s the fact that — evidenced by its complete lack of noise and emissions — it’s all-electric, a condition many Londoners still aspire to some 116 years on.

It’s just one of a ‘fleet’ of vintage electric cars kept for high days and holidays by London’s best-known department store, and it will be one of the stars of this years famous Royal Automobile Club London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, on Sunday, November 5.

With more than 450 pioneers from the era of the horseless carriage, this year’s run will be the biggest for five years. Twenty three countries are represente­d in the entry list, which includes 34 new participan­ts.

Scores of different makes are represente­d, including Ford and Vauxhall, but also lesser-known entrants such as Brush, Gladiator, Achilles and Bolide. On the big day, I’ll be at the wheel of Renault’s majestic 1900 Type C — first shown in April that year at the Vincennes Car Show in Paris — as it leaves the ‘start’ at Hyde Park.

The vehicle was extremely advanced for its time, with an innovative cooling system.

Equipped with a one-cylinder engine, it develops 3.5 horsepower and has a 20mph top speed. Victorious in many reliabilit­y and time trials in the early 20th Century, I’m hoping for an equally good performanc­e on November 5.

Few entrants, however, are as obscure as Harrods’ Pope Waverley, which has belonged to the firm for generation­s. Or, it seems, as tricky to drive.

‘Starting’ her up is simple enough; involving a couple of electric connection­s, removing a home-made ‘hand brake’ (a safety addition) and then shifting a lever in ‘Forward’ and activating a power lever.

But the old girl — steered with a tiller, not a wheel — proves a little lively, even in a straight line. “Just as well she won’t go much faster than around 20mph,” says Len. “You have to work the tiller to keep her straight, and the brakes consist of two very basic rear drums.”

Even so, the Pope Waverley costs just pennies to charge up overnight, compared to higher running costs for an electric or diesel car, and has a decent enough range of 20 miles, on one set of batteries. More, plainly, will be required for the London to Brighton Run.

And the ‘Special’? Just 78 years old, she’s far too young to qualify for the Run but, powered by a bank of batteries, and originally built from scratch by Harrods mechanics, she still appears at special events. Cruising speed is 18mph and, according to Len, 20mph is “frightenin­g”. “I prefer to keep it to 10mph,” admits the store’s Historic Electric Vehicles Curator. “But it’s not at all bad for an electric vehicle.”

Not bad at all — and there’s little wonder that the store recently leaped into the 21st Century, buying a brand new electric Nissan e-NV200 for deliveries in London, too.

So, while most of the other competi- tors will be shaking, rattling, steaming and fuming out of Hyde Park for the London to Brighton Run on a misty morning in November, spare a thought for the Pope Waverley, gliding serenely on its way, showing the direction the motor industry could have gone in, had it not been for the pesky discovery of the internal combustion engine.

The Run departs Hyde Park at dawn on November 5, heading via south London to Brighton’s Madeira Drive. Visit bit.ly/2yFwsk2 for route details.

The electric Pope Waverley stars in the free-to-view Regent Street Motor Show on Saturday, November 4, from 10am-4pm, when the public can also try out the very latest electric cars.

@djrwilliam­s

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 ??  ?? Old timer: Len, 82, with the Harrods 1901 Pope Waverley, left, which will be one of the stars of this year’s Royal Automobile Club London to Brighton Veteran Car Run; inset left, Alasdair Worsley, editor of the Renault Owners’ Club, drives the...
Old timer: Len, 82, with the Harrods 1901 Pope Waverley, left, which will be one of the stars of this year’s Royal Automobile Club London to Brighton Veteran Car Run; inset left, Alasdair Worsley, editor of the Renault Owners’ Club, drives the...
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