Surrey Vintage Vehicle Society caters for veteran cars, vintage cars & classic cars, as well as commercials and motorcycles.

London-Brighton Veteran Run: 
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2021  Brighton Veteran Run

1899 Clement Panhard VCP Phaeton on the Inaugural Brighton Run

History of the two inaugural London to Brighton Runs, one in 1896, the other 1927 

Our Publicity Officer Tony Russell (UK) seems to be on the lookout for photos of unusual cars, and wondered if we knew what make this vehicle was which has connections with the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run? - Yes, - this is the winner of the 1927 'Old Crocks Race to Brighton' organised by the Daily Sketch and Daily Graphic newspaper and the Autocar magazine on the 13th of November 1927. The car was reported as being a '1896 Panhard', but was actually an 1899 Clement Panhard VCP Phaeton. The vehicle was designed by the prolific French inventor in airships, submarines and automobiles, Arthur Krebs, who subsequently licensed the design patents to Emile Levassor, and also later joined  Panhard & Levassor. 

This is also one of a number of vehicle brands that the French automobile pioneer, Adolphe Clement, was involved with at the dawn of French motoring. While he was the chairman of Panhard & Levassor it became obvious that the company would not have the capacity to manufacture this vehicle at the anticipated quantity of at least 500 units, so Clement agreed to manufacture some of the vehicles under licence in his factory in Paris, Levallois Perret, as Voiture Clément-Panhard (VCP). 

Krebs had developed the engine specifically for this vehicle, a single cylinder four-stroke with a displacement of 763cc, the cylinder cooled with air, but the cylinder-head with water. No accelerator pedal, the engine ran constantly at maximum power on both petroleum and gasoline. Initially hot tube, later electric ignition. First series engine produced 3.5 hp, and from 1901, it had an output of 4.5 hp. The engine was rear mounted at a slight incline. The gearbox was initially constant-mesh electromagnetic, subsequently a mechanical version, later with a reverse gear. Speed rated at 35KPH.

Front of a 1900 Clement Panhard VCP
showing the front axle,  transverse suspension and central steering 

The most noticeable aspect of the car was the central pivot steering system, rather than Ackermann. Steering was from a steering wheel via a link arm to the front suspension. The suspension was by a transverse leaf spring across over the whole of front axle which rotated within a centrally vertical steering tube. On the rear, it had a pair of longitudinal elliptic springs fitted to the rear axle. Originally the body was only available as a Phaeton but in 1900 a three-seater vis-à-vis variant was added. In many ways this car was very similar to the 1906 Ford Model N. Serial numbers started at 101 finished in 1902, with about 600 made. The car was also licenced to be manufactured in Scotland by the Sterling Motor Carriages, who made an additional 200 with own bodies distributed world-wide. 

The car in the picture above, the 1899 Clement Panhard VCP Phaeton taking part in the 1927 Brighton Run, had the chassis number 210 and engine number 2011. The car was registered V 46 which was a Lanark County Council registration from Scotland, issued very early in 1904. The vehicle is shown being driven by the winning driver, John Bryce of Lanark.

The 1927 Run was the first of the series of 125+ recent annual Brighton Runs and was organised by the Daily Sketch and Sunday Graphic newspaper and the Autocar magazine. The event was intended as a relatively light-hearted jaunt officially named the 'Old Crocks Race to Brighton'. The idea was to get some of the old bangers out of retirement and back on the road after resting since the original Brighton Run in 1896. Cars had to be at least 21 years old and had to comply with then legal and licencing requirements. Each car carried a huge board advertising the newspapers concerned, and participants were encouraged have comical slogans on the cars and to wear comical clothing. The event also included possible promotional work for a film 'The First Auto' where the prize-winner would receive a respray. It may be noted that this was some 25 years before the Brighton film 'Genevieve'. 

Prior to the Brighton run, the majority of the cars which were entered also took part in the London Parade Run. The Daily Sketch newspaper had organised a 'Procession of Ancient Motor Cars' from its offices in Fleet Street, to the Motor Show at Olympia, awarding entrants with prizes. It was reported that many of the cars were surprisingly still operable and some were still in daily use as taxis.

The 1927 'Old Crocks Race' event would be won on a basis of points awarded for the age and the power of the vehicle, originality, condition, whether there were involuntary stops en-route, and points lost for any available seat in the car being unoccupied. To discourage cheating, observers from another competing car were passengers and it was their responsibility to keep a tally of the points, and their diligence would be rewarded by a free seat at the official dinner. The Start was subsequently moved to the Embankment near New Scotland Yard and then out across Westminster Bridge. The designated Finish point was the Old Toll House in Patcham, from where the vehicles drove in a parade to Brighton. The 'Old Crocks Race' eventually had 51 initial entries, 44 actual starters, 41 completed the course, 21 did so without stopping, and 37 were eligible for the gold medal. The first prize was awarded to John Bryce who had also previously won the prize money in the Olympia procession in the 1899 Clement Panhard VCP Phaeton.

Although the 1927 'Old Crocks Race' was the rebirth of the London to Brighton Run, the fun of the 1927 run soon began to become more serious and, three events later, the Veteran Car Club was formed in 1930, which now regulates, verifies and dates all participating cars. …Which is perhaps just as well because stories had previously been circulating that some of the participants in the original 1896 run had been pulled by horses most of the way, some towed by bigger cars and that others had loaded their cars onto the train in London and unloaded at Preston park, then splashed them with mud before the procession into Brighton.

The very first London to Brighton Run was organised in 1896, still in the horse era, by Harry J. Lawson and was named "The Emancipation Run" to celebrate the recently passed Locomotives on Highways Act. This abolished the need for a man being required to walk on foot 60 yards ahead of the vehicle waving a red flag so as not to upset horses. The Act also raised the national speed limit of 4mph in the country (2mph in town) to 14 mph in the country. 

The event started with a breakfast at the Charing Cross Hotel after which the competitors gathered outside the Metropole Hotel to be escorted from the start at 10.30 by a mass of cyclists enjoying the then cycling boom, this being mirrored today by many penny-farthings accompanying the car run to Brighton. A total of 33 motorists set off from London for the coast, with a compulsory lunch stop in Reigate, and 17 arrived in Brighton. The first to arrive was a Duryea Motor Wagon, beating the next by an hour. 

A number of attempts were made to organise similar runs in subsequent years without a great deal of success, and it was not until 1927 that the first proper re-enactment took place. All subsequent LBVC Runs are an annual anniversary of the original Run and are only for cars that were in use THEN. These are now being called 'Veteran' cars. The Run is open to four-wheeled cars, tri-cars and motor tricycles manufactured before 1st January 1905 and that are subject of a valid Veteran Car Club of Great Britain (VCC) Dating Certificate. Although the red flag man had actually been abolished 1878, the Locomotive Act had remained known as the Red Flag Act. Because of this, a red flag was ceremonially destroyed at the start of the 1896 run.

The LBVC Run distance is now approximately 60 miles (97km) and historically starts from Serpentine Road in Hyde Park in central London, and finishes at the sea-front at Madeira Drive in Brighton. First cars start at Official Sunrise Time (approx. 7.00am) and depart in batches at intervals of two minutes. The starting order is determined by age and horsepower, with earliest vehicles starting first. The maximum average speed permitted is 20mph. The official finish is at Madeira Drive, Brighton which closes at 4.30pm. The maximum entry list is 450. The current catalogue suggests a slightly smaller overall entry list.

The Start in central London has now been split into two routes to ease congestion and improve the flow of the run within the city. This is why some cars carry blue entry numbers and some a red number. The two routes join up again north of Croydon. 

Most British registered cars carry a brass plate indicating the official name and date of the car as issued by the VCC. Those without such plate are generally entrants from abroad, Europe and America. 

Some cars are also carrying a Red letter 'R' sign which denotes they are undergoing the Regularity Time Trial of achieving an average speed as close as possible to that nominated at the start of the event over a defined 10 mile stretch of the route near Redhill. Points are lost for being early or late, and quite a few lost for hiding out of sight if early!   Nothing much changes!

Similar specilised Brighton Runs take place for early Motorcycles (Pioneer Run) and early Commercial Vehicles (HCVS Brighton Run), and many one-make car clubs use the route as does the London to Brighton Bicycle run.