The very first car to have been driven on Italian roads is one of the special entries in this year’s Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox. The car in question, a 2.5-hp, twin-cylinder Peugeot Type 3 (chassis number 25), was originally owned by wealthy Italian textile industrialist Gaetano Rossi. He ordered it in 1892 and it was delivered to his home in Schio, Vicenza, in January 1893.
When Rossi, a friend of Armand Peugeot, purchased a second Peugeot in 1896, he gave the Type 3 to a friend, Guido Lazzari. Lazzari lived in Aiello del Friuli, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire but lost to Italy in the First World War.
When Italian troops entered Aiello del Friuli, parts of the car were taken and the pioneering Peugeot was laid up. The car lay forgotten for some years until, in 1955, the Lazzari family — Guido had died in 1953 — offered it to the Turin Automobile Museum in exchange for a then-brand-new Fiat 1100.
Partially restored in time for the museum opening in 1963, the Peugeot was initially thought to be a later model, but its true provenance was uncovered in 1999 by Fabrizio Taiana of the Club Storico Peugeot Italia. Until his detective work revealed the truth, the honor of being the first car on Italian soil had been held by a Panhard et Levassor, which was driven in Florence in 1894.
In 2007 the Type 3 underwent a further full bodywork restoration, and this year, its engine and other mechanical parts were reconditioned in preparation for its debut on the world famous London to Brighton Run.
With this year’s Veteran Car Run having a French theme, it is appropriate that the “Italian” Peugeot will take a starring role as the oldest car on the Run. It. It is officially entered by the Museo dell’Automobile di Torino, and has been given start number 1 so that it will be the first car away. It will be driven by Count Alessandro Rossi di Schio — a direct descendant of the car’s very first owner.
“This is a genuinely fascinating car,” said Peter Read, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club’s Motoring Committee. “One of the earliest Peugeots in existence, it is also one of the most significant, and will come to London in November with an intriguing back-story. It is absolutely fitting that it will be driven to Brighton by a member of the original owner’s family.”
The 2017 Veteran Car Run will be held, as ever, on the first Sunday in November — this year, it falls on the 5th — and is organized by the Royal Automobile Club. For further information, please visit www.veterancarrun.com
