Wheelspin: The Cars Are at Least 102, but the Run Is Even Older November 24, 2006
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, which brought hundreds of participants to a predawn rendezvous in Hyde Park, is open only to vehicles built before Jan. 1, 1905.
EARLY this month I spent a pleasant Sunday with friends in an ‘04 Cadillac, making the 60-mile drive from Hyde Park here in the British capital to the beach resort of Brighton, a trip that took most of eight hours.
Simple arithmetic makes it apparent that our Cadillac was not zipping along at the pace of the latest muscle-bound sedan from the company’s high-performance V-Series. Still, ours was among the newest cars making the drive that day - though it was a 1904 model.
We were there for the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, which brought hundreds of participants, including me, to a predawn rendezvous in the park. In the morning chill, the sounds, smells and sights produced by more than 400 century-old engines finished the job that my alarm clock could not. Some hummed like sewing machines, others produced a distinctive putt-putt. The steam cars whistled and bellowed, while the electrics slipped silently past.
The London-to-Brighton run began in 1896 as a celebration of the passage of the Locomotives on the Highway Act, a law that raised the speed limit for automobiles, then known as “light locomotives,” to a heady 14 miles an hour, from 4 m.p.h. The first run also celebrated the end of a regulation that required cars to be preceded by a person carrying a red flag - a warning to pedestrians and horses that a stinky, noisy automobile was approaching.
The drive, which organizers bill as the world’s longest-running motoring event, is open only to vehicles built before Jan. 1, 1905. Cars made before 1900 accounted for 33 of the nearly 500 cars entered this year; 438 cars actually made it to the starting line, and 395 finished. Entries were from 21 countries, with 20 from the United States.
Although many of the brands represented have long since ceased production, a handful are still in business, including Cadillac, Ford, Opel, Peugeot, Renault and Vauxhall. Both Mercedes and Benz were there, although as separate marques.
The run is neither a race nor a true road rally. No prizes are given for the order of finish, just a small medal to each car that finishes. Rules limit the entrants’ top speed to 20 m.p.h.; the first car across the finish line, a 1903 Berliet closed swing-seat tonneau driven by John Bentley of Mexico City, recorded an average speed of 17.6 m.p.h. His trip took 3 hours and 40 minutes.
I was fortunate enough to arrange a ride with a participant, Larry Riches, by stressing my unparalleled skills as a passenger; skills that, as a person who prefers to drive rather than ride, are rarely tested.
Mr. Riches, a retired importer of motorcycle parts, had two entries in this year’s run, a 1902 Curved Dash Oldsmobile and a 1904 Cadillac Model A - a one cylinder machine with 6.5 horsepower, or about as much oomph as a Sears garden tractor - that would be my ride.
Veterans of runs warned me of the vagaries of the British weather in November; rain and a cold wind on the route should be expected. I arrived dressed in many layers of warm waterproof gear - and a pair of antique goggles purchased in an attempt to strike a period-correct look. Combined with my new deerstalker hat, I looked as if the Michelin Man, Sir Elton John and Aquaman had collaborated on my wardrobe.
Starting the Cadillac required hand-cranking the engine to life, remembering to retard the ignition to prevent a ferocious kick through the crank. The crank handle is next to the driver’s seat; the driver stands facing the car, adjusting the spark advance and throttle controls near the steering wheel as needed. The car has no gauges or indicators.
The start of the run is staggered, with the oldest cars leaving earliest. At 7:07 a.m. the first cars left the park, driving past Buckingham Palace and across Westminster Bridge toward Brighton and the coast.
The route is broken by only one official stop, in Crawley. But there were many unofficial stops, including those for repairs performed by the roadside assistance trucks of the Royal Automobile Club, the organizer of the event. The club had 40 breakdown vans in service on the morning of the run; by the halfway point, they had fielded hundreds of calls.
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- Author : arnold
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