The 2025 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, scheduled for Sunday November 2, will honour the 125th anniversary of one of the world’s oldest and most ambitious motoring adventures: the 1000 Mile Trial.
Organised by the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland – a precursor to the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) – the 1000 Mile Trial began in London on April 23, 1900 and passed through Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds and Nottingham before returning to the capital on May 12. For many ordinary Britons living in the Midlands and the North, the 1000 Mile Trial was the first time they had ever seen a motor car.
As the world’s longest-running motoring event, the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run pays tribute to the 1896 Emancipation Run – a parliamentary act that effectively granted motorists the freedom of the open road. Less than four years later, the 1000 Mile Trial demonstrated the benefits of these revolutionary horseless carriages to a national audience.
The Trial attracted 83 entries from emerging motor manufacturers and pioneering privateers. Of these, 65 reached the start line at Hyde Park Corner. Impressively, 51 cars were still running when the cavalcade arrived in Edinburgh, the northernmost point of the route, and 35 vehicles completed the return journey to London by May 12, 1900.
“It’s hard to overstate the incredible significance of the 1000 Mile Trial – it really put both the joys and practicalities of motoring on the map,” explained RAC chairman Duncan Wiltshire. “We are forever proud of the special role our Club played in the early days of car culture, and we are delighted to be celebrating such an historical milestone on this year’s RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.”
Remarkably, two cars that took part in the 1900 1000 Mile Trial – an 1899 Daimler 12hp and an 1899 Wolsley 3.5hp Voiturette – have survived to the present day. Driven by John Montagu MP and owned by the Science Museum, the Daimler remains on display at the Montagu family home at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire.
The Wolseley – also known as OWL because of its registration plate – is kept at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The Birmingham-built Wolseley was the first four-wheeled vehicle designed by Herbert Austin, who drove it in the 1000 Mile Trial, winning its class. Since then, OWL has participated in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run an impressive 39 times.
To mark the 125th anniversary, OWL will be granted pride of position at the startline of November 2025’s Veteran Car Run. The historic machine will also form part of a special anniversary showcase at the inaugural Royal Automobile Club Concours on July 9, 2025.
For more information on the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run 2025, click here.
