It has been ninety years since one of England's most ambitious drivers of the first hour took part in the London to Brighton Bandwagon for the first time. The fact that the event is also 122 years old makes this year's edition extra special.
Richard Shuttleworth took part in the drive for the first time in 1928 and it was not to be his last. His car, a four-cylinder Panhard-Levassor with 12 hp, is even regarded as the first model of its kind and still exists today.
Shuttleworth himself unfortunately died on an RAF training flight in 1940, aged just 31, but until then he never missed an opportunity to take part in the "race". Even when he missed the registration deadline once, he still snuck in and took part. Shortly before his death, he founded the "Shuttleworth Collcdetion of vintage planes and cars", which is still active today and also owns his old car.
Volunteers from this foundation organized the restoration of the vehicle as part of the anniversary and will also have the privilege of driving the historic vehicle in the Veteran Car Run in November.
It is said that the car was originally built as a racing car and even finished the race from Paris to Amsterdam in 1898 in fourth place with an average speed of 24 miles per hour (approx. 38 km/h). It was then converted to its current form in 1901.
Further information about the "race" can be found on the London-to-Brighton-Run website.
