Veteran cars set off from London on annual run to Brighton

Veteran cars rolled through the streets of London on Sunday, 1 November, for the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, which takes early motoring models from Hyde Park to England's south coast. This year's event marked 140 years since German engineer Karl Benz introduced his Patent-Motorwagen, widely regarded as the first production car.

The route covers 97 kilometres. Some of the vehicles made the trip at speeds of only 12 to 20 mph.

Mechanical trouble on the way

One car broke down on The Mall, a road in central London, showing the mechanical difficulties of driving such early models.

Participants' experience

For those taking part, the run is about the experience as much as the destination. Driving a car from the early days of motoring takes patience and a good grasp of how it works.

Shaun Harborne, who drove a 1901 Renault Type D, described such vehicles as fragile. In his words, the suspension, brakes, clutch and gearbox all need careful handling.

Karl-Heinz Jungbeck, who came from Munich in a 1903 Lacoste & Battmann, said the event gives a taste of the adventure motorists would have known more than a century ago.