Mr. Harold Pritchard's 1903 De Dion Bouton on Regent Street. (Click to enlarge)
In our twelve years of publishing weekly, VeloceToday has never covered the London to Brighton Run. Yet it is the oldest vintage car event in the world, usually dominated by French cars. In the last four years the start in London is augmented by what is billed as the ‘largest free motor show in the U.K.,’ the Regent Street Motor Show. This year, Jonathan Sharp reports on the activities from both London and his hometown of Brighton. See also “Brighton in Photos” (link) for Sharp’s excellent Vintage photos. Remember to click on photos to see larger image!
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Be sure to click on the photos to see much larger images!
Regent Street Motor Show
Early Christmas shoppers had a pleasant surprise when they went down to London’s famous Regent Street on the morning of Saturday the 2nd November. Gone were the red buses and black cabs that normally haunt the glamorous shopping street, replaced by a small lineup of Porsche 911s, there to celebrate their 50th Anniversary, a much larger line up of Aston Martins of all ages there to celebrate their 100th Anniversary, and an even larger line up of Veteran Cars there to celebrate the 117th running of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.
Aston Martin brigade on London's Regent Street.(Click to enlarge)
Billed as the largest free motor show in the UK, the display is called the Regent Street Motor Show and is now in its fourth year. The Aston Martin line up was a good cross section of David Brown models and later V8 models, Saloons, Vantages and Volantes, brought right up to date with many current examples. From a photographer’s standpoint they had been roped off, which made photography a lot easier. Alas, that was not the case with the Veteran cars which proved very popular with the crowds, so patience was called for when taking shots. I am grateful to the sales assistants in the Jaeger store for allowing me to photograph the racing Napiers from the second floor windows of the ladies wear department, and to the Westminster City Council for positioning street lamps along the middle of the street (which gave me something to climb up!)
Getting the high view. Note the crowd on Regent Street, which seemed very interested in learning more about these Veterans.(Click to enlarge)
Three important Napiers
The third Napier entered this year is the 1902 40hp example owned and driven by Mr. Daniel Sielecki. This was the first time in the history of the event that all three Napiers had run together at Brighton.(Click to enlarge)
The highlight of the Veteran cars on display was the three Gordon Bennett Cup Napiers. Each example had entered the run in previous years but this year was the first time that the three cars had run to Brighton together. The three Napiers were the 1902 6.5 liter 40 hp example of Mr. Daniel Sielecki, the 7.7 litre 50 hp 1903 Napier owned by the National Motor Museum Beaulieu and the 11.1 liter 100 hp car, also of 1903, owned by the Louwman Museum. The 6.5 liter car was driven to victory by Mr. S. F. Edge in the 1902 Gordon Bennett Cup race from Paris to Innsbruck, the first British car to win an International race. The other two Napiers raced in the Gordon Bennett Cup races of 1903 and 1904. The Gordon Bennett Cup races saw the birth of national racing colors, and the first appearance of British Racing Green.
Napier passing the famous Brighton Pavilion. This is the 1904 11100cc 100hp example now owned by the Louwman Museum. (Click to enlarge)
The event organizers were pleased as well. “I would like to thank the owners of these very special cars for giving the public a rare opportunity to see them, both on display in the Regent Street Motor Show on Saturday and then in action on the Veteran Car Run on Sunday,” said Ben Cussons, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee.
The 1903 4 cylinder 7700cc 50 hp Napier, the oldest surviving complete British Racing car. The car was driven by Charles Jarrott in the 1903 Gordon Bennett race. Now owned by the National Motor Museum Beaulieu. (Click to enlarge)
As a child this writer spent many a wet Sunday afternoon watching old classic movies on the BBC, one of the favorites being the 1953 Film Genevieve. The plot revolved around two couples who had entered the London to Brighton Run and starred Kenneth Moore, Dinah Sheridan, and “Genevieve” – a 1904 12 hp 2 cylinder Darracq. Now under the care of the Louwman Museum, “Genevieve” is a regular entrant in the run. This year, just outside the Liberty’s store, was “Genevieve” herself, looking resplendent in her black and gold finish.
‘Genevieve,’ probably the most famous Darracq. She had a starring role alongside Mr. Kenneth Moore in the well-loved classic British movie of the same name. Entered by the Louwman Museum, driven by Ms. Quirina Louwman. (Click to enlarge)
If the shoppers and tourists became bored with the cars then they could always enjoy listening to the West End Kids, who entertained by singing songs with a car theme from West End Musicals, with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang being very much to the fore. At around about 4 pm the cars began to disperse with the Veterans driving off to various hotels ready for their early morning departure. This exodus produced the memorable sight of a 3.5 hp Dietrich travelling down past Green Park with a 1000hp Bugatti Veyron coming in the other direction. Maybe we have not progressed as far as we think.
The London to Brighton Run
Sunday, a lovely autumn morning, cold but blue skies and sun, was perfect for a run down to Brighton. The London to Brighton Run, or as we used to call it when I was a child, “the old crocks race,” is run every year on the first Sunday in November and commemorates the first Emancipation Run of 1896 which celebrated the passing into law of the Locomotives (automobiles) on the Highway Act which raised the speed limit for light Locomotives from 4 mph to 14 mph and also abolished the requirement for a person to walk in front of the Locomotive to warn other road users – up until 1878 the law dictated that the person also waived a red flag! At the start of the 1896 Emancipation Run a red flag was symbolically destroyed by Lord Winchelsea, an event which continues to this day.
A large horn button was an early Napier option, in fact the entire horn!
In that year, 33 pioneering motorists departed the Metropole Hotel London on the first run but only 17 arrived in Brighton. Léon Bollée in his own car completed the run in 3 hours and 44 minutes at an average speed of 22.4 Km/h. The first formal re-enactment of the Emancipation Run took place in 1927 and has taken place every year, except for the war years and 1947, due to petrol rationing.
A general view of the cars at the end of the run on Maderia Drive, Brighton. Mr. Malcolm Barber's 1903 Rear Entrance Tonneau 16 hp Peerless leads the lineup with Mr. James Stephenson's 16 hp 1901 Panhard Et Levassor with the same style of bodywork.(Click to enlarge)
Three or four-wheeled vehicles manufactured up to the 1st January, 1905 are eligible to participate. This year’s entry stood at well over 500 cars, all of which follow the old A23 road to finish at Brighton – a distance of 54 miles (87 km). The official finishing line is about a mile from the Brighton Seafront in Preston Park, but the ceremonial finishing line is on Madeira Drive on the Seafront. This is lined from mid-morning until late afternoon with cheering and clapping spectators. In fact the entire route is lined with enthusiastic spectators no matter what the weather brings. However, it is the owners and drivers who show the greatest enthusiasm when crossing the Madeira Drive finishing line – their faces a picture of delight. Many of the cars have done the run for many decades often being driven now by the grandsons of the original entrants. The Brighton Run is a fantastic event that perhaps could only happen in England.
You forget that real star of the movie “Genevieve” was Kay Kendall, who was arguably, the most beautiful woman in the world.