Classic Car Run

The annual London to Brighton Classic Car Run returned to Madeira Drive today in a glorious blur of polished chrome, growling engines and retro styling. This long-standing favourite on the UK motoring calendar brings together classic car enthusiasts from across the country and beyond, for a scenic drive that concludes at Brighton Beach.

The event was first held in 1988, designed to complement the Veteran Car Run (for pre-1905 vehicles) and give post-war classics their own moment in the sun (or rain!). Starting at Brooklands Museum in Surrey - itself a landmark of British motoring history - the route leads participants through picturesque countryside and historic villages, before finishing at the traditional motor venue of Madeira Drive. With the South Downs in full early summer bloom, the scenic aspect is no afterthought, it is said, but motoring as leisure, not speed. Participants receive a commemorative plaque, a rally board, and a route book complete with historical notes.

Entry is open to a wide range of vehicles - typically those built before 1973, although this cut-off can shift slightly to accommodate newer classics. Over the years, the event has grown to include the Kit & Sports Car Run and Modern Classics Run. On arrival in Brighton, participants park up along Madeira Drive to the delight of the waiting crowds, who are free to wander among the cars, and to chat with drivers of the lovingly-maintained vehicles.

Today’s display included several Ford Escorts in eye-popping hues - a lime green Mexico, a tangerine RS2000, and a glossy red custom job with the bonnet proudly lifted to show off its gleaming engine bay. Just a few cars down, a cream Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith (late 1940s or early 1950s) garnished with white floral garlands showed off its wide curving haunches - perhaps, a study in postwar elegance.

Over the decades, the Classic Car Run has built up its own mythology. There was the time when a fleet of Morris Minors took a wrong turn and arrived triumphantly from the wrong end of the promenade. And then there was the Triumph Herald that boiled over just yards from the finish line, only to be pushed across by its laughing, Union Jack-draped crew. In 2017, a 1950s Bentley was delayed by a flock of sheep crossing a Sussex lane; the driver simply tipped his cap and declared, ‘Motoring as it should be - unpredictable and utterly British.’

See also the Historic Commercial Vehicle Run.