Ten Veteran Cars go under the Hammer on Friday 2 November

The 2007 London To Brighton Veteran Car Run weekend will officially start at 14:00 this Friday when the first of over 200 lots, including ten veteran cars, go under the hammer at Bonhams New Bond Street London salerooms.  The auction includes period related memorabilia such as posters, postcards, bulb horns, badges, ceramics and jewellery.     

However it is the ten pre 1905 veteran vehicles that will draw the most attention, with two of the cars being sold with an entry for the 2007 LBVCR allowing the new owner to buy on Friday and drive on Sunday in the world's longest running motoring event.  

The oldest vehicle in the sale is Lot 302 an 1899 Marshall two-seater Phaeton from the Potter Collection. The two speed, 5hp engined car cost £210 in 1899, with third and reverse gears an optional extra at £10 each.  Another box on the options list was a hood and windscreen for £16.  This fully restored Marshall, though fully eligible, has never participated in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run and is expected to fetch between £80,000 and £100,000.

The other pre 1905 vehicles are - 
Lot 301 1902 Argyll 8hp rear entrance tonneau (£60,000 - £80,000)
Lot 303 1902 Darracq 9hp swing seat tonneau (£50,000 - £60,000)
Lot 304 1903 Rambler Model 6½hp E two-seater runabout (2007 LBVCR Start No 271) (£33,000 - £38,000)
Lot 305 1904 James & Browne 9hp rear entrance tonneau (£80,000 - £100,000)
Lot 306  1903 Panhard-Levassor Type A 7hp Twin-Cylinder rear entrance tonneau (£120,000 - £140,000)
Lot 307  1904 Cadillac 10hp Model B rear entrance tonneau (£36,000 - £40,000)
Lot 308 1903 Cadillac Model A 6½hp two-seater runabout (2007 LBVCR Start No 263) (£38,000 - £42,000)
Lot 309 1904 Talbot Type CT2K 9/11hp Twin-Cylinder rear entrance tonneau (£120,000 - £140,000)
Lot 310 1904 De Dion Bouton Type V 8hp two-seater (£40,000 - £50,000)

“2007 is the fourth year of the LBVCR auction at Bonhams and the ten veteran cars is the largest number of pre 1905 vehicles being sold since 2004 underlining the importance of the auction as the official start of the whole 3-day event,” said LBVCR Event Director Roger Etcell.  “Two of the veteran cars are being sold with an entry for this year's event but if any of the new owners wish to take part in the Run on Sunday, and their car is eligible, we would be happy to accommodate any such request. 

“However the auction isn't just about the cars there are also over 200 lots of all sorts of related memorabilia, which gives a wonderful snapshot of early 20th Century motoring,” Roger Etcell continued.  “With Bonhams hosting the International Reception on Friday evening and providing the popular participant's hot chilli and mulled wine on arrival at Madeira Drive, Brighton, their support has been an important factor in the growing success of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.”

Entry to the auction is by catalogue and pre auction viewing is on Thursday and Friday morning.  The auction starts at 14:00 on Friday 2 November. 

On Monday 3 December the world's oldest Rolls-Royce will be auctioned by Bonhams at Olympia, London.  The 1904 10hp two-seater veteran car is the only Rolls-Royce in the world eligible to take part in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run and will be on display at the New Bond Street salerooms this Friday. 

For further details contact Bonhams on 0207 447 7447 or visit www.bonhams.com.

Event Background
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is a celebration of the Emancipation Run held in 1896.  Thirty vehicles travelled the 60-miles from London to Brighton to mark the passing into law of the Light Locomotives Act which raised the speed limit from 4mph to 14mph and did away with the requirement for a person to walk in front of a vehicle waving a red flag to warn other road users    The first reenactment was in 1927 and the LBVCR has been held every year except during World War II and in 1947 due to fuel rationing.

In 2006 the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run event attracted in excess of 500,000 spectators to London's Regent Street and along the 60-mile route from London to Brighton, with the official coffee stop in Crawley High Street, outside the George Hotel as featured on the original 1896 Run.  The entire event is completely free of charge to spectators, making it one of the largest free to view events in the UK.

The 531 entries, all built between 1895 and 1904 and collectively worth in excess of £50million, include three electric vehicles built between 1900 and 1903, nineteen steam vehicles and 102 International entries from as far away as Australia, United States of America, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and China.