Electric Power on the 1896 and 2009 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
At the end of the 19th Century the big question was what was the best way to provide power for the new horseless carriages that were being seen on the roads across the world?  Engineers in many countries worked in three main areas; the petrol internal combustion engine, steam and electric.  In the end the petrol engine became the preferred method of power and the rest, as they say, is history.
 
However with modern concerns about the environmental impact of motorised transport, the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run (LBVCR) has three regular entries from participants with electric powered cars, with the oldest vehicle at 109-years-old. The three electric vehicles, which can be seen on the 2009 event on Sunday 1 November, are fully working examples of a method of power that is starting to become popular again in the 21st century with the advent of hybrid and all-electric technology. 

Incredibly, three electric vehicles also took part in the original 1896 Emancipation Run and allegedly two of those entrants covertly travelled to Brighton via train because there wasn't the infrastructure in place to recharge the batteries, a problem that's challenging the industry today, some 113 years later!.

Mr. Reginald Blennerhassett-Plunkett from Dublin drives the oldest electric powered vehicle on the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, a 1900 Cleveland Stanhope capable of a top speed of 15mph.  The car is a firm favourite with the public and won the ‘Public's Choice' award at the 2005 LBVCR International Concours in Regent Street.

The second electric vehicle is owned by Mr. John Hanson from Michigan in the United States drives a 1902 Columbia Tonneau.  This will be John's 37th LBVCR event in this car, which has only failed to reach the finish on one occasion.

The youngest electric car on the 2009 Run is a 1903 Waverley Surrey that was previously owned by the Edison Institute Museum and is now the pride and joy of Mr. Gervase Forster from Little Chalfont in Buckinghamshire.  Aptly nicknamed ‘Sparky', the Waverley is capable of 30mph and can travel 50 miles before needing a recharge.  This means that the support crew need to ‘refuel' using jump batteries at Crawley before the car can complete the 60-mile journey to Brighton.

Hybrid technology is nothing new either. In 1900 Belgian car maker Pieper produced a 3½hp hybrid car which had an electric motor providing additional power for the small petrol engine when the car was going uphill.  Unfortunately no examples of these early hybrids survive.