In recognition of the large number of American automobiles regularly taking part in the annual Veteran Car Run, the 2015 London to Brighton event, set for its traditional date of the first Sunday in November, will have a distinctly American theme.
In last year’s event, 109 cars from U.S. marques took part, representing almost 25 percent of the entries. Although Cadillac, with 25 examples and Oldsmobile (31) accounted for the lion’s share of the American entries, they were joined by a number of other U.S. marques including Pope, Stanley, Rambler, Northern, Pierce, Waverley and Ford… some better known than others.
While the first horseless carriage might have come from Benz in Germany, the Americans were also an inventive force among the early automobile pioneers. At the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th, they were hard at work producing not just petrol-powered cars, but also cars powered by steam and by battery — today’s electric vehicle revolution actually started more than a century ago. The event will have pioneering cars and tricycles powered by examples of all three types of propulsion, all with the goal of reaching Brighton by the end of the day.
Ben Cussons, Chairman of the Veteran Car Run Steering Group and Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee said, “On behalf of the Royal Automobile Club and the Steering Group for the Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, we’re delighted to welcome entries from pre-1905 cars as we look ahead to the 119th anniversary of the Run. We hope to see even more U.S. car marques as we celebrate them this year, and look forward to a stellar lineup from all over the world at the start on Sunday, November 1.”
The first of the more than 400 cars will leave London’s Hyde Park as dawn breaks just before 7 a.m. The route will then thread under Wellington Arch before passing Buckingham Palace at the start of the 60-mile trip to Brighton. For more details of the event and access to entry forms please visit www.veterancarrun.com.
