London to Brighton: How many owners did your car have?

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People don’t get 120 years old. Or at least not the people that we know. Some cars, however, are approaching that ripe old age by this time. And it’s hard to imagine what these cars have gone through in their motoring lives. The annual London to Brighton run is a great celebration of these vintage machines and auctioneer Bonhams jumps to the occasion of selling some of them.

Let’s have a look at some of the remarkable machines they offer for sale, as there is no questioning about  their historical aspects. You may have come across the 1901 Panhard et Levassor 7hp known as ‘Le Papillon Bleu’. This car is considered to be the epitome of London-Brighton as it was there when this was still known as 'The Old Crocks Run' in 1927. The seller describes it as ‘Among all surviving automobiles of the pioneering Veteran era, this is one of the most famous.”

All very nice indeed, but with the current owner owning it only for 27 years we believe that historically speaking, there may even be better examples in the sale. How about this 1901 Renault 4½hp ‘Rear-Entrance Tonneau’? This car was in the hands of a single owner from when it was new in 1901 (or 1902, the exact date is a little uncertain) to 1999! Not run in recent years, it needs some recommissioning but may we beg the new owner to leave that lovely patina accumulated over the past century-plus all there?

Although certainly remarkable, it’s not the only car with very long ownership making it to the Bonhams sale. This 1899 Bruneau Quadrilette had one owner up until the early 1960s, while an 1899 Star Benz 3½hp was fully rebuilt after WW2 and made it to London-Brighton throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Sold in the 1970s to a Manx motor museum, it only changed hands in 2015 once again. Last but not least this 1902 Peugeot 5½hp ‘Bébé’ was purchased off the Paris Motor Show stand in 1902 by a Captain Kelly and had just two more owners before being seen at the 1949 London to Brighton run. The auctioneer states: “One of the accompanying photographs shows the car arriving in Brighton on Madeira Drive, and it can be seen that the condition is virtually the same as today, with perhaps a little more patina.”

Photographs courtesy Bonhams.

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