As old as the hills

The London to Brighton Run is the world's oldest motoring event.. Two of Autocar's younger bloods tackle it, but would they do it again? Mark Tisshaw shivers at the thought

It started with a text from Steve Cropley: "How are you placed for Brighton Run Nov6? Interesting piece of Autocar history." I was free, and I was in - although not yet had I realised exactly what co-pilot Will Rimell, who Steve had already recruited to sit next to me, and I had let ourselves in for...

MT Being involved in the legendary run, an event that Autocar reported on from its very beginning in 1896 and which was set up following the legislative removal of the infamous 'red flag man', was something of an unfulfilled dream. Will and I would be in one of 330-ish pre-1905 cars to set off from Hyde Park. But first, we needed to find out what we would be driving. Steve had got us in with a 1904 Rover 8 Horsepower, the world's oldest Rover and one belonging to the British Motor Museum, where Steve is a trustee.

We needed driving lessons in it ahead of the run, because it's a whole world away from the modern machines we road test today.

WR Jumping aboard the Rover for the first time, I saw what looked like a conventional three-pedal set-up, only to be told about its unconventional arrangement: brake on the right, clutch in the middle and the decompressor on the left. A steering wheel mounted twistable throttle control next caught my eye, followed by the raw three-speed 'box, which needed a good yanking to get into gear. This was paired to a single-cylinder 1.3-litre engine giving a top speed of 24mph, depending on the gradient.

Incredibly, though, after just 10 minutes at the wheel, it was almost intuitive to use.

MT Yes, that's what my main takeaway was, too: it was much more straightforward to drive than it first appeared.

WR After looking at the weather for the day itself, waterproofs were packed and I met Tish in London near Earl's Court, from where we drove to Hyde Park.