Veteran era survivors on ‘The Run’ | Axon’s Automotive Anorak

From 7am onwards, the first (earliest) car will be flagged off immediately after the traditional ceremonial ripping up of the red flag to represent the welcome 1896 ending of the Locomotives Act of 1865 that had previously restricted the speed of all powered-vehicles to 4mph in open countryside and just 2mph in villages and towns. The red flag came from the requirement for there to be a man leading the vehicle, walking with a red flag to warn of its approach.  

Making its traditional London start at dawn from Hyde Park (as has been done since 1936), The Run will then slowly chug its way the 60-mile route southwards via Surrey and Sussex down to the final destination of Madeira Drive in Brighton, with the first vehicles usually arriving from around 11:00 onwards. 

Ahead of The Run on Sunday, a special Concours for around 100 of the pre-1905 veteran cars will be held around St. James’s Palace on Saturday 2^nd November, with an interesting supporting static motoring display being held on Regents Street. 

As the participants of this year’s Run make their final preparations, it’s sad to ponder that today fewer than a dozen marques from the pioneering Victorian and Edwardian era of motoring have still survived worldwide. It is also worth considering that of the many hundreds (if not thousands) of automotive companies that sprang up between the very late 19^th century and early 20^th, the majority already expired by the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

A few more managed to survive a little longer ahead of the beginning of World War II in 1939, including once dominant and important pioneering motoring manufacturers such as De Dion Bouton, Mors, and Leon Bollee, and a few other ex-passenger car marques continuing after the war to make commercial vehicles only, including Berliet, Minerva, Thornycroft and Albion.

Post-WWII, a few pre-1905 car companies stuttered on for a while, including once proud and mighty names such as Delahaye (which built it first car in 1894 but ended production in 1954), Lanchester (1895-1956) and Packard (1899-1958), as well as those which endured through to the 21^st century such as Oldsmobile (1896-2002), Rover (1904-2005) and Daimler (1896-2010), with this prestige Coventry-based marque running until its owner, Jaguar, was forced to bow to pressure from Mercedes-Benz to discontinue use of the Daimler name.

Mercedes-Benz frequently claims to be the world’s oldest automobile company, the one that invented the motor car (which is somewhat debatable). In truth, the two constitute parts that went on to form the Mercedes-Benz ‘marriage’ in 1926 were Karl Benz’s stationary engine business he established in Mannheim in 1886, and Gottlieb Daimler’s Bad Stanatt-based internal combustion engine development workshop that introduced the first series-produced petrol-powered car in 1895, just four years prior to his death.

Of the remaining ten pre-1905 motor car manufacturers from the pioneering era that remain in business today, Peugeot is the oldest, having made its first petrol vehicle in 1891. Peugeot sold five cars that year, jumping to 29 sold in 1892 and 300 by 1899. In 1895, the first Peugeot – a 4hp – was imported into Britain for Sir David Salomons, with the Hon. C.S. Rolls of Rolls-Royce fame another very early UK customer. 

Peugeot was joined by new start-up French car maker Renault in 1898, founded in the same year that Opel added motor cars to its range alongside the pedal bicycles and sewing machines that it made in Germany. Fiat was the last of the remaining car makers that still exists today from the 19^th century, just making the cut with its 1899 foundation.

Of the remaining pre-1905 car producing survivors, a trio of North American companies, Ford (1901), Cadillac (1902) and Buick (1903) are still with us, with one of the oldest and longest-established USA manufacturers – Oldsmobile, sadly closed in 2002 following a successful 106-year history of car making.

The final three car producers that remain with us today are the British trio of Vauxhall (1903), Rolls-Royce (1904) and AC Cars (1901), the latter incorrectly claiming to be Britain’s longest-established car maker in constant production, which sadly is not so as ownership of the specialist small firm has changed hands many times, often leading to production stops and periods when it was not possible to buy a new AC. That said, the fact that a tiny vehicle maker such as AC can survive for more than 120 years is very impressive.

In summary, here is a list of the 11 car companies you can buy from today, just as you could over 120 years ago, before the London-Brighton Run 1905 cut-off point, and when each made its first car:

Mercedes-Benz: (Benz = 1886, Mercedes (as Daimler) =1895 (Mercedes from 1901)

Peugeot – 1891

Opel – 1898

Renault – 1898

Fiat – 1899

Ford – 1901

Cadillac – 1902

Buick – 1903

Vauxhall – 1903

AC – 1904

Rolls-Royce – 1904

Images courtesy of Getty Images.