Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

VETERAN CARS READY TO TURN REGENT STREET FROM A CITY CARRIAGEWAY TO A CONCOURS CATWALK.

Top prize for one lucky visitor helping to choose the popular ‘Spectator’s Choice’ award

Veteran cars planning to tackle the annual journey from Hyde Park to Brighton this November will need to be in more than just top mechanical condition… they will need to look the part, too.

On the day before the Bonhams Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox leaves London’s Hyde Park (that’s Saturday 5th November with the Run itself starting at first light on Sunday, 6th November) more than 100 veteran cars will take part in a Concours d’Elegance. The glittering showcase is a major highlight of the free-to-view Regent Street Motor Show, an annual event staged in one of the world's most prestigious shopping and lifestyle destinations situated right at the heart of the nation’s capital city.

Exhibiting in front of a panel of expert judges, including TV motoring pundit Edd China, the veterans are all more than 112 years old, with the youngest built in 1904 and the oldest in 1898. While most are petrol-powered, the Concours entry also includes an American-built Cleveland electric car from 1900.

They will be competing for a number of awards including the Concours d’Equipe for the best turned-out team in period costume and the overall Concours d’Elegance.

However, not every car has to be polished to within an inch of their lives, as one of the most sought after gongs will be awarded to the best original or unrestored car.

One special prize involves members of the public voting for their favourite veteran car in the popular ‘Spectator’s Choice Award’, sponsored by Renault. The French company is one of the backers of the Veteran Car Run and an enthusiastic Run entrant with an open four-seater built in 1900 from its own heritage collection taking part in this year’s event. One lucky voter will also be in with a chance of winning an incredible prize and voting is already open – just follow the links at www.regentstreetmotorshow.com. A name will be chosen at random to win £2,000 to spend on Regent Street; dinner at the Brasserie Zedel; and an overnight stay at the nearby Cavendish Hotel.

Among the cars entered are last year’s winners, back to defend their titles. A 1903 Pierce will be contesting the Concours d’Equipe award; a 1903 Mors will be aiming to wow the spectators again, while no fluffy duster has been anywhere near an unrestored 1903 Oldsmobile in the past year.

Last year’s overall winner, a 1904 De Dion Bouton tourer (photo below right), will also be back hoping to collect top honours again, before its annual 60 mile trip from capital to coast.

First held in 2005, the Regent Street Motor Show – a Royal Automobile Club event – has gone from strength to strength. Last year, the event welcomed a record 450,000 visitors and even more are expected this year.

Regent Street is closed to through traffic during the day and as well as the veterans, the latest generation of low and zero-emission cars (with short test drives on offer) plus classic cars and bikes, supercars and historic competition machinery will be on display.

There’s entertainment from the Steve Colley Stunt Bike display team, the Top Gear Mercedes F1 simulator and street theatre performances from the West End Kids. And, of course, there’s plenty of opportunity to get a little early Christmas shopping done, too.

Visitors can find out more – as well as vote in the Spectator’s Choice award – by downloading the Regent Street app (available on both iOS and Android) which also allows visitors to explore London’s most iconic shopping and dinning destination.
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[Rick]

GERMANY, THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE AUTOMOBILE, TO BE HONOURED ON THE LONDON TO BRIGHTON RUN.

This year’s Veteran Car Run will be a tribute to the country that put the world on wheels.

In 1886, exactly 130 years ago, Karl Benz presented his Patent-Motorwagen to the world. A three-wheeled machine with a rear-mounted single-cylinder engine developing less than 1hp, it is widely regarded as the world’s first purpose-designed automobile.

At about the same time, and no more than 60 miles away, Gottlieb Daimler was also working on an automobile. His first car was an adapted horse-drawn carriage and appeared just a couple of months later. These two German engineers had stolen a march in the rest of the world, their creations starting a genuine revolution in personal mobility.

To mark this significant milestone in the history of the car, this year’s Bonhams Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox – the world’s longest running motoring event – will have a German flavour.

Among the 400-plus entries taking part in the the Royal Automobile Club event are 14 German-made cars, including examples of long forgotten marques such as Adler, Delin and Cudell which will be joined by a number of Benz (below bottom) and Mercedes (above) cars.

Among these are a Benz Victoria and a Benz Phaeton, both from 1898, entered by the Allgemeiner Schnauferl Club, one of the world’s earliest motoring clubs, which was founded in 1900.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is also joining in the celebration by entering two of its motoring pioneers on the Run – a 1901 Benz Spider (below top left) and a 1902 Mercedes Simplex (below top right).

This year’s Run marks the 120th anniversary of the first ‘Emancipation Run’ from London to Brighton, which was held in November 1896. It marked the passing into law of the Locomotives on the Highway Act which raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4mph to 14mph and abolished the need for the vehicles to be preceded by a man carrying a red flag.

As tradition dictates, the Run – which has been organised by the Royal Automobile Club since 1930 – will take place on the first Sunday on November, which this year falls on the 6th. More than 400 three- and four-wheelers – all built before 1905 – will take part in the Run.

The Run is just one element of the Royal Automobile Club’s London Motor Week – a seven-day celebration of motoring, which includes an art exhibition, motoring heritage lectures, a motoring forum and a motoring books awards evening.

The penultimate event in the week is the free-to-view Regent Street Motor Show, on Saturday 5th November, which turns London’s premier shopping street into a motoring showcase that puts the spotlight on veterans and moderns alike. Then just before 7am on Sunday 6th November the Club’s premier event, the 120th anniversary Bonhams Veteran Run supported by Hiscox, gets underway.
_________________
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[Rick]

TOTAL OILS THE WHEELS FOR MOTORING’S PIONEERS.

Leading oil company backs Veterans with modern technology for century-old engine.

Pioneering automobiles from the 19th century will benefit from Formula 1 technology as leading oil and gas company Total becomes a long term Official Lubricant Supplier to the famous Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox.

Total first became involved in the Royal Automobile Club event last year and has now signed a three-year agreement which will see the company’s involvement expand to offering not just lubricants to participants but also a full mobile welding service to compliment the work of the RAC Motoring Services patrols.

Marc Smith, General Manager at Total UK, Lubricants Division, said: “Total has been catering to the needs and specifications of generations of engines from the 1920s right up to multiple F1 world championship winning cars and Aston Martin Racing. We are delighted to be supporting the Run for the second year in a row and to strengthen our link with the veteran car community.

“It is amazing that these cars are still running and with our expertise and technology applied to oils and lubricants, we are working to ensure their engines perform as well as – or even better than – they did when new, more than 110 years ago!"

With experts on hand to talk about how modern oil technology is vital to the longevity of veteran engines, Total will be at the start of the Run in Hyde Park and will provide two oil stations en route, at the Honda Redhill assist point and the Harrods stop at Crawley, the official half way point.

Total has teamed up with leading restorers, Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth to provide the mobile welding unit. This is the first time that such a specialised service has been offered to participants in trouble.

“As usual, patrols from RAC Motoring Services will be providing help to those who break down, but sometimes these unique vehicles demand specialist help and we are delighted to be able to offer this service thanks to Total and CMC,” said Ben Cussons, Chairman of the Veteran Car Run Steering Group Committee.

This year’s Run marks the 120th anniversary of the first ‘Emancipation Run’ from London to Brighton, which was held in November 1896. It marked the passing into law of the Locomotives on the Highway Act which raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4mph to 14mph and abolished the need for the vehicles to be preceded by a man carrying a red flag.

As tradition dictates, the Run – which has been organised by the Royal Automobile Club since 1930 – will take place on the first Sunday on November, which this year falls on the 6th. More than 400 three- and four-wheelers – all built before 1905 – will take part in the Run.

The Run is just one element of the Royal Automobile Club’s London Motor Week – a seven-day celebration of motoring, which includes an art exhibition, motoring heritage lectures, a motoring forum and a motoring books awards evening. The penultimate event in the week is the free-to-view Regent Street Motor Show, on Saturday 5th November, which turns London’s premier shopping street into a motoring showcase that puts the spotlight on veterans and moderns alike. Then just before 7am on Sunday 6th November the Club’s premier event, the 120th anniversary Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Run supported by Hiscox, gets underway.
_________________
Rick - Admin
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[Rick]

FORMULA ONE RETURNS TO REGENT STREET.

Special James Hunt celebration adds Grand Prix glitter to the UK’s most popular motor show

It is more than 12 years since Formula One cars famously roared up and down Regent Street – but now Grand Prix racers are returning to the prestigious shopping destination right in the heart of the nation’s capital city.

Visitors to next month’s free-to-view Regent Street Motor Show (Saturday, 5 November) – a Royal Automobile Club event – will once again be treated to the sight of F1 cars in the West End.

Now firmly established as the country’s most popular automotive spectacle with 450,000 attending last November, this year’s Regent Street Motor Show will mark the 40th anniversary of James Hunt’s extraordinary World Championship winning campaign in 1976 as told in the award-winning movie Rush.

Renowned for his playboy lifestyle, Hunt lived most of his life in London before his untimely death from a heart attack at home in Wimbledon at the age of just 45 in 1993. His crowning career moment came on 24 October, 1976 and that milestone will be celebrated with a special display on Regent Street.

James’ title-winning McLaren M23 will be on show and his son, Freddie – who bears a striking resemblance to his dashing father – will be present for photographs and signings of a special commemorative book during the day.

“This has been a very special year for all the Hunt family, with a number a great events honouring my dad’s remarkable achievements in overcoming Niki Lauda to win the championship 40 years ago,” said Freddie. “By all accounts, dad loved London and knew the West End and its night clubs rather well, so where better to end this salute than on Regent Street?”

The appearance of Freddie and the championship-winning McLaren will not be F1’s only presence on Regent Street. Further south and closer to Piccadilly Circus, the Silverstone Classic display will have several iconic grand prix cars from the Eighties on show. The annual event is the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival and it will be maximising its attendance at the Show by launching Early Bird ticket sales for next summer’s three-day high-octane extravaganza (21-23 July).

Adding to the experience, visitors will also be able to savour an eye-opening high-speed ride in Lewis Hamilton’s F1 car aboard the Top Gear simulator, and eyeball a contemporary Red Bull F1 car courtesy of the team’s lubricants partner Total.

With the entire length of Regent Street from Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circus closed to traffic for the day, Formula One will not be the only show in town. The hundreds of thousands of visitors will also be treated to cars dating right back to the dawn of motoring, as well as a glimpse into the future.

No fewer than 100 pioneering machines from the pre-1905 era will be preparing for the following day’s epic journey from London to Brighton on the legendary Bonhams Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox. Turning the clocks forward, Regent Street will also be packed with the latest pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars that could condemn today’s conventional petrol and diesel-propelled machines to their own chapter in the motoring history books.

As well as the F1 racers plus the cars of yesterday and the cars of tomorrow, crowds will be able to savour dozens of classic cars, supercars and bikes. There’s entertainment from the Steve Colley Stunt Bike display team and regular street theatre performances from the West End Kids.

And, of course, there’s plenty of opportunity to get a little early Christmas shopping done, too, in some of Regent Street’s flagship stores.
_________________
Rick - Admin
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[Rick]

CRAWLEY – HALFWAY TO PARADISE FOR HARDY LONDON TO BRIGHTON
PARTICIPANTS AND SPECTATORS.

Friendly Sussex town provides a welcome pit stop for
veterans and a superb vantage point for spectators

Drive a modern car from London to Brighton and the journey ought to take less than two hours.

Attempt the trip in a pioneering veteran car with little or no weather protection and relying on technology that’s at least 110 years old and, well, it’s going to take somewhat longer.

So for the fearless drivers and their passengers heading from the capital to the coast on the first Sunday in November, a halfway halt is a welcome opportunity to fettle their cars and warm themselves with a hot drink.

As has now become a tradition, the participating cars in the annual Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox – a Royal Automobile Club event – will be taking a well-earned break at the Honda Gatwick dealership in Crawley.

Upon reaching the half-way point of the run, participants will be able to enjoy the hospitality of The Harrods Stop at Crawley. The iconic Green Men from the famous Knightsbridge department store will welcome guests to enjoy a full service of refreshments from the Harrods Banqueting team, providing treats straight out of the popular Harrods Food Halls. Guests will be entertained by a lively jazz band and served by the ‘Harrods Butlers’.

James Healy, Director of Store Operations, commented: “The Run is a great opportunity to celebrate veteran vehicles in the UK and, for us at Harrods, to celebrate our history as a store. Harrods has been serving customers across London for over 160 years, and it’s fantastic to have our veteran vehicles back on the open road.”

There will be no public access at Honda Gatwick, so the next stop for the cars is Crawley High Street. Here Crawley Borough Council has organised spectator viewing points, allowing visitors to see the cars close up as they prepare for the trip across the Downs to Madeira Drive.

The High Street will have a full PA system with driver interviews broadcast live while Gatwick Airport will be giving hand warmers to spectators and also providing a genuine veteran car, courtesy of the nearby Filching Manor Museum, in which they can be photographed.

Councillor Peter Smith, Cabinet member for Planning and Economic Development at Crawley Borough Council, said: “Spectators love to watch the Veteran Car Run in the High Street and view the ‘old crocks’ up close. This has been a tradition for decades and makes Crawley the vibrant and exciting halfway stop of this fantastic event. I am delighted that Gatwick Airport is helping to bring this to the High Street.”

Melanie Wrightson, Community Engagement Manager, Gatwick Airport, added: “The London to Brighton corridor is an important UK transport link with Gatwick uniquely placed at the centre of this growth corridor. We are delighted to be sponsoring this year’s Run and are particularly pleased the event will be returning to Crawley, the home town of Gatwick. We wish all the participants a successful event and applaud the pioneering spirit of all those involved in helping to make this event possible.”

The High Street also marks the start of the Chopard Regularity Run, the only competitive element of the event. Finishing 13 miles away in Burgess Hill, the Regularity Run requires drivers to get as close to a chosen average speed as possible.

The first cars are due to arrive at the High Street at around 8.15am with the last car leaving at around 1.45pm.

This year’s Run marks the 120th anniversary of the first ‘Emancipation Run’ from London to Brighton, which was held in November 1896. It celebrated the passing into law of the Locomotives on the Highway Act which raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4mph to 14mph and abolished the need for the vehicles to be preceded by a man carrying a red flag.

More than 425 three- and four-wheelers – all built before 1905 – will take part in the Run, with the first cars leaving Hyde Park as dawn breaks just before 7am on Sunday 6th November.

The Run is just one element of the Royal Automobile Club’s London Motor Week – a seven-day celebration of motoring, which includes an art exhibition, motoring lectures, a motoring forum and a motoring book awards evening.

The penultimate event in the week is the free-to-view Regent Street Motor Show, on Saturday 5th November, which turns London’s premier shopping street into a motoring showcase that puts the spotlight on veterans and moderns alike. Then just before 7am on Sunday 6th November the Club’s premier event, the 120th anniversary Bonhams Veteran Run supported by Hiscox, gets underway.
_________________
Rick - Admin
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[Rick]

SUN SHINES AS PIONEERING HORSELESS CARRIAGES MAKE THEIR WAY FROM LONDON TO BRIGHTON.

Veterans make their annual pilgrimage from capital to coast under glorious blue skies.

As a crisp and chilly London was still covered by darkness, nearly 400 pioneering veteran cars, their intrepid drivers and plucky passengers gathered in Hyde Park on Sunday (6th December) waiting for daybreak to signal the start of the annual London to Brighton Run.

This year was all the more special as the 2016 Bonhams Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox – and staged, as it has been since 1930, by the Royal Automobile Club – celebrated a number of significant anniversaries.

It’s 120 years since the original Emancipation Run, which was held in 1896 to celebrate the Locomotive on the Highway Act. This raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4 to 14 mph and abolished the need for a man to walk ahead waving a red flag.

It also marked 130 years since German engineer Karl Benz revealed his Patent Motorwagen, a petrol-powered three-wheeler regarded as the world’s first automobile. In his honour, this year’s Run had a German theme which was supported by Daimler Benz who entered a number of early Benz and Mercedes cars from its museum.

One of these, a 1901 Benz Spider, was driven by ex-Formula 1 team owner turned TV pundit Eddie Jordan. A London to Brighton novice, Jordan quickly adapted to the somewhat slower pace of Benz, and hailed the day as right up there alongside anything he had savoured in his motor sport career.

“What a fabulous experience, it surpassed all my expectations ten fold,” he enthused. “This equals the best day I’ve ever had in F1. You can’t describe it. Everybody should make the effort to come out and see the Run, or try to participate if they can.

“It’s remarkable just how well Mercedes built these cars. They were great engineers in their time and the fore-runners of what we see in Grands Prix today. In fact, the only thing missing was a heater… ”

Jordan was not the only former F1 team owner turning back the clock on the road to Brighton. Ross Brawn also completed the course in his 1904 Wilson Pilcher while other famous faces included Lindsey Russell from the long-running Blue Peter children’s television show and fashion model Jodie Kidd aboard the Harrods owned 1901 Pope Waverley (below third row left).

Following a respectful distance behind the early starters were BBC Radio 2 DJs Ken Bruce and Chris Evans plus BBC One Show host Alex Jones driving vintage buses full of passengers who paid for their ride of a lifetime by jointly raising more than £180,000 for BBC Children in Need. They were joined by BBC Breakfast weather reporter Carol Kirkwood and Strictly Come Dancing stars Kevin and Karen Clifton (below middle large).

After the ceremonial tearing of the red flag – performed this year by Jordan (below second row left) – the cars set off alongside Buckingham Palace and down the Mall before heading past Big Ben and over Westminster Bridge at the start of the journey to the coast.

With the 60-mile route bathed in autumnal sunshine and lined by hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic spectators, the first target for the intrepid automobilists was Crawley and The Harrods Stop at Honda Gatwick. Here their cars could be fettled while the participants enjoyed warming refreshments from the Harrods Food Halls.

From there it was a quick trip to Crawley High Street where the Run started part two of the journey to Brighton’s Madeira Drive. A popular spectator gathering point where Gatwick Airport gave away much welcomed hand warmers and provided a veteran car as a photographic back drop, the High Street marked the start of the Chopard Regularity Time Trial.

While the Run is famously not a race, the Time Trial introduces a competitive element. More than 180 entrants, more than ever before, elected to take part in the Trial by attempting to keep to a strict average speed for the stretch between Crawley and Burgess Hill. The winner was Wolfgang Presinger in a 1904 Covert, covering the 13 miles at an average speed of 8.05mph compared to his 8mph target.

In total 351 of the 392 starters made it to Brighton before the 4.30pm deadline to claim a coveted finishers’ medal. Appropriately in a year celebrating German cars, the first car home was the 1903 racing Mercedes driven by Chris Scott from Jersey which arrived in the sunny seaside resort shortly after 10am (below seventh row left). With a mighty 9.2-litre engine under the bonnet delivering an impressive 60bhp, perhaps that was no surprise.

The Royal Automobile Club’s Peter Read, Chairman of the Motoring Committee, said: “Once again this remarkable event – the world’s largest gathering of veteran cars and the globe’s biggest free-to-view motoring event – was a huge success, a fitting tribute to the men and machines who first put the world on wheels.

“The weather was glorious – if a little chilly – this year, and that was a real bonus for the spectators, the participants taking part not to mention the volunteer marshals who, fittingly, make sure it runs like a well-oiled machine. Here’s to next year when the Run will be held on 5th November, ahead of Bonfire Night.”

• The Run marked the end of the Royal Automobile Club’s London Motor Week – a seven-day celebration of motoring, which included an art exhibition, motoring lectures, a motoring forum and a motoring book awards evening.

The penultimate event in the week was the free-to-view Regent Street Motor Show, on Saturday 5th November, which turned London’s flagship shopping street into a motoring showcase that put the spotlight on veterans and moderns alike and attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors.
_________________
Rick - Admin
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