To Brighton by Renault: a participant's view of the 2022 Veteran Car Run

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Having grown up in Croydon, I was first taken to watch the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run by my parents at the age of four. A new enthusiast was created there and then, and I have returned to the roadside every year since, come hell or high water, to admire the event which feels not older, but more historic, with each passing year.

An unexpected meeting with Robert Hadfield, President of the Veteran Car Club, in January saw my dedication rewarded with the offer of a passenger ride in this year's run. I would not have begrudged making the journey in a two-seater, single-cylinder voiturette, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my allocated seat would be in the Automobile Association's magnificent 1905 Renault Model VB 23/25hp phaeton, bodied by one of Paris's finest coachbuilders, Rothschild et Fils.

This particular car, a grandfather rights entry, was familiar to me from my many years of spectating, so I knew immediately that I was destined for a fast, comfortable journey to Brighton with ample protection against the very worst weather, and the least likelihood of being asked to jump out and push.

An aristocratic automobile

The Renault is truly as noble as its appearance suggests, having been originally owned by Lady Cheylesmore of Princes Gate, a close friend of Queen Mary. In 1911, she purchased a country retreat, Cooper's Hill at Englefield Green, Surrey, and used the Renault until 1919. She died in 1945 and her son inherited it, leaving it in the open for two years before it was rescued by a local enthusiast, Mr. Robertson, in 1950. It was quickly returned to running condition for the 1950 Brighton Run, before Paul Waring undertook a full restoration later in the decade.

It went on to appear in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, driven by Fred Emney's comically unimpressed colonel. In 1965, the AA was looking for a suitable Veteran with which to celebrate its Diamond Jubilee, and settled on the Renault, which was then appropriately bestowed with the AA 1 registration. It has since participated in the Brighton every year from 1966.

Having risen at a suitably unsociable hour to be ready for our 7.30 departure from Hyde Park, I met Denis and Sharon Bass, its custodians since 1998, on the Bayswater Road at about 6.15. Denis unexpectedly ended up in charge of the Renault as a result of his long career with the AA, having not previously been involved with veteran or vintage vehicles. After a crash course in learning to drive it, 24 years down the line he is now as keen an enthusiast as ever there was. In Hyde Park, we picked up fellow passenger Rebecca Clark, from sponsor Abels Moving Services. Having assisted with the event's smooth running for several years, she, too, was experiencing it as a participant for the first time.

We departed punctually from Hyde Park as the Union Jack fell, and were soon making good progress down Constitution Hill, past Buckingham Palace and along the Mall to Trafalgar Square, then crossing Westminster Bridge to pick up the long road to Brighton.

A fast run to the coast

The weather forecast for Sunday was both abysmal and depressingly accurate, with rain lashing down for most of the morning. We remained comfortably dry with our calash top over the rear seats and an extended canopy connecting it with the tall windscreen, but one felt for the occupants of the cars we passed at the roadside, getting drenched as they saw to running repairs. And we passed lots of cars, whether momentarily waylaid or not. Slower Humberettes and Curved Dash Oldsmobiles moved aside for the Renault's unstoppable advance, as we kept pace with the big Mors and Mercedes.

The Renault felt a world apart from the older, cruder cars. The 4¼-litre, four-cylinder bibloc engine propelled it smoothly and quietly, most unlike the noisy singles where one feels every ignition stroke. It had no difficulty getting up to about 35mph on the approach to the Brighton Pylons, and since Louis Renault had been at the forefront of brake development, it would pull up pretty sharply for a car of its age and size. Except for the notoriously cantankerous three-speed tumbler gearbox, it seemed a most agreeable set-up for a drive to Brighton.

At any rate, we were all enjoying ourselves, and Rebecca, as a veteran-car débutante, seemed particularly enthralled, if slightly incredulous of the more irregular entries like the Salvesen steamer.

Open roads and splendid scenery

Between Crawley and Brighton, we were granted a reprieve from the rain, and it wasn't long before we reached what must be the sweetest leg of the run. The approach to Staplefield brings with it the sort of scenery that uplifts, no matter how damp and dreary the weather may be. The strong autumn golds were all the more pronounced against the dense, low clouds, and broad views opened up revealing the brilliant expanse of the South Downs. Freed from the traffic lights and roundabouts of London and Crawley, motoring assumed a more genteel quality through the pretty villages of Staplefield and Cuckfield, before the challenging ascent of Clayton Hill. I say 'challenging' but, having built up plenty of speed on the approach, the Renault pushed ahead quite undeterred.

It was not quite 1.00 pm when we rolled onto Madeira Drive and were hit by the sudden blast of chill sea air, blown in from an obscured horizon where the blur of thick fog mixed with the foam of a tumultuous Channel. We rolled through the finishing posts, having made the journey in good time, with only two scheduled stops for refreshments and no unplanned setbacks, and kept relatively dry in the process.

Most of the other finishers were to be found hiding from the weather in the participants' marquee, availing themselves of the Irish stew and hot toddy which were well-deserved and especially welcome. In queueing to join them, the heavens opened and all the benefits of weather protection which we had hitherto enjoyed went completely out the window...

Of course, my experience was not entirely typical. The Renault is one of relatively few cars to benefit from the sophistication and splendour of the dawning Edwardian age, and there are not many entrants with the combined luxuries of full weather equipment, a potent four-cylinder engine, and virtually perfect reliability. For the hardy pioneers on De Dion tricycles and Benz Velos, the occasion must pass in a very different, but scarcely less enjoyable, fashion. I shouldn't mind finding out for myself one year, but perhaps a year when the sun's shining...

Thanks are due to the Royal Automobile Club for organising the whole event, the Veteran Car Club for its continued support, and in particular Denis and Sharon Bass, and the sponsors and volunteers without whom it could not go ahead.

Words and pictures: Zack Stiling
 

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