This weekend’s RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run (Sunday 3 November) will feature the world’s most valuable and arguably finest, vehicle dating from the dawn of motoring. It’s one of just five remaining Mercedes Simplex 60HPs, and was sold earlier this year for an astonishing $12,105,000 (£9,508,287) – a new world record for a pre-1930 car at auction.
 
Until its recent sale, the ultra-rare and beautifully preserved Mercedes had been in the sole possession of the Harmsworth family for 121 years, since first leaving the factory gates.
 
The Simplex, so called on account of its easy handling resulting from a long wheelbase and low centre of gravity, was one of the very first cars to wear the Mercedes badge. It was also one of the fastest and most exclusive cars of its day. This icon was well ahead of its time and dates back to long before the three-pointed star logo was adopted.
 
With its 9.25-litre, four-cylinder engine giving 80+mph performance, the 60HP version was the ultimate – and best – iteration of the revered Simplex. It combined unprecedented speed with stand-out style to establish Mercedes as the builder of large, luxurious and high-performance motors. Just over 100 examples were built and only a handful survive.
 
This beautiful record-breaking example was originally sold to publishing magnate and motoring pioneer Alfred Harmsworth in 1903. As an avid motorsport enthusiast, Harmsworth entered his new 60HP into various competitions, setting fastest times at Nice Speed Week and Castlewellan Hill Climb. The car was also the unused reserve racer for the German team in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup.
 
When its motorsport career ended, Harmsworth dispatched his Simplex to J Rothschild et Fils in Paris for a new touring body to be fitted. This was known as ‘Roi de Belges’ coachwork after King Leopold II of Belgium, who had one of his cars similarly kitted-out.
 
The Mercedes stayed in the Harmsworth family’s possession after Alfred’s death in 1922, and in the 1950s it was safely entrusted to the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, where it remained on display for the next six decades. During that time, it also participated in several London to Brighton Veteran Car Runs with high-profile drivers, including Stirling Moss and Jim Clark, at the wheel.
 
Following its record-breaking sale in Florida earlier this year, the very special Simplex 60HP has been back in the UK, being lovingly recommissioned under the guidance of John Bentley MBE in his Harrogate workshop.
 
“It was so original that it would have been a tragedy to have restored it – so, instead, we have done a very, very sensitive conservation,” explained Bentley. “Aside from fitting a replicated hood and frame, as they were missing, we have done very little mechanical invasion. It drives just like it did when it left the factory in 1903. I’ve done around 150 miles so far and, hopefully, it is good to go all the way to Brighton on Sunday.”
 
With the presence of both the record-breaking Mercedes Simplex 60HP and legendary 16.2-litre Fiat 130 HP on the RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, Sunday’s very significant event will feature both the most valuable car and the most powerful veteran car ever seen on the event.
 
In total, close to 400 veteran vehicles will be leaving Hyde Park at sunrise on what is a ‘drive’ rather than a ‘race’ to Madeira Drive on the Sussex coast. All those wishing to watch the extraordinary pioneering cars en route can enjoy the magical sights and sounds of early motoring at the following times and locations.
 
6:45am                    Ceremonial Tearing of Red Flag, Hyde Park, London
7:00am                    The Start, Hyde Park, London
7:00am – 8:45am    Constitution Hill, London
7:00am – 8:45am    The Mall, London
7:10am – 9:00am    Whitehall, London
7:10am – 9:00am    Westminster Bridge, London
7:10am – 9:00am    Lambeth Palace, London
7:20am – 9:20am    Clapham Common, London
7:25am – 9:50am    Mitcham, London
7:35am – 11:05am  Coulsdon High Street, London
7:40am – 11:05am  Merstham, Surrey
7:55am – 11:35am  Redhill, Surrey
8:10am – 2:00pm    Crawley, West Sussex
8:25am – 2:10pm    Handcross High Street, West Sussex
8:30am – 2:25pm    Staplefield village, West Sussex
8:50am – 2:35pm    Cuckfield High Street, West Sussex
10:00pm – 4:25pm  Brighton, West Sussex
 
The Run is just one element of the Royal Automobile Club’s London Motor Week – a seven-day celebration of all things motoring, which includes the Motoring Lectures, the 11th anniversary Motoring Book of the Year Awards, and the Art of Motoring Exhibition. It’s taking place at the Iconic Images Gallery, a stone’s throw from Pall Mall. More information is available on the Club’s website and social media, and at www.theartofmotoring.co.uk.
 
Two other highlights are the prestigious RM Sotheby’s London Sale and the exciting new free-to-view St James’s Motoring Spectacle, both taking place on the eve of the Run on Saturday, 3 November. The former is now set in the five-star surroundings of The Peninsula London on Grosvenor Place and the latter right outside the Royal Automobile Club’s long-time Clubhouse on Pall Mall, which is closed to through-traffic for the duration.