Veterans set to sparkle on Summer Run

 

A packed entry of enthusiastic participants are preparing themselves—and their wonderful pre-1905 cars—for the third running of the Royal Automobile Club’s much-loved Summer Veteran Car Run on Thursday, July 18th.

 

The single-day Summer Run was established in 2022 as a warm-up for the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run which, as tradition dictates, takes place between dawn and dusk on the first Sunday in November. The jolly July jaunt provides owners of pioneering vehicles with an ideal opportunity to enjoy their trailblazing cars in somewhat warmer climes than they sometimes experience in November on the world’s longest-running motoring event. The Summer Run will once again be based at the Royal Automobile Club’s tranquil Woodcote Park clubhouse, set in 350 acres of beautiful countryside adjacent to the Epsom Downs in Surrey.

Come next Thursday, a full-capacity line-up of 35 veteran cars will assemble on the Cedar Lawn for morning refreshments. From there they will set out onto the rural byways of southern England for a 54-mile tour, heading through the Surrey Hills and the picturesque Mole Valley towards a welcome lunch stop at Gildings Barns, near Newdigate. After their leisurely pit-stop, participants will enjoy a gentle return to the seclusion of Woodcote Park for afternoon tea, an informal concours, and prize-giving in the glorious grounds. The day’s proceedings will conclude with dinner in the historic Motor House, surrounded by the Club’s heritage vehicle collection.

 

While public access to Woodcote Park is restricted, there will be plenty of opportunities for spectators to savour the sights and sounds of these pioneering cars in the leafy lanes of Surrey and West Sussex. Idyllic villages such as Leigh, Charlwood, Rusper and Brockham all make for ideal viewing points. Those at the roadside will be treated to many renowned early automotive manufacturers. Some of the nascent marques represented—Cadillac, Mercedes, Renault, Oldsmobile and Peugeot—are still familiar today, while others like Autocar, Argyll, Aster, De Dion-Bouton, Gladiator, Mors, Napier and Wolseley were unable to stand the test of time.  

 

While the Summer Run is limited to just 35 entrants, more than 330 cars have already registered for this year’s RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. Cost-saving Advanced entries are open until August 13th, with Standard entries available thereafter until September 18th. 

 

Full details of both events are available on the official www.veterancarrun.com website.