The Royal Automobile Club is delighted to announce that the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run welcomes RM Sotheby’s as its title partner for a further five years.
 
This partnership builds on the previous five years of success, which has seen the event reach several landmarks. These include its 125th anniversary; 75 years of the emblematic film Genevieve; and in 2024 a celebration of 120 years of the Ladies’ Automobile Club.
 
Last year’s Run was considered one of the very best in its history and now is a fitting moment to announce this renewed partnership between with RM Sotheby’s and the Royal Automobile Club.
 
The original ‘Emancipation Run’ of 1896 marked the recently passed Locomotives on Highways Act and was a reason to celebrate for pioneering early motorists and the emerging British car industry.
 
This new legislation raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ on roads from 4 to 14 mph and abolished the need for a man to walk ahead waving a red flag.
 
To herald this new-found freedom, 33 jubilant drivers set off after breakfast on Saturday, 14 November 1896 from the Metropole Hotel in Whitehall, heading to Brighton on the Sussex coast. 
 
Other than two breaks because of world conflicts and the COVID pandemic, the Run has taken place every year since, attracting hundreds of remarkable pre-1905 cars from all over the world.
 
RM Sotheby’s boasts a truly international footprint, with a network of 80 offices in 40 countries. It possesses the largest client network of any collector car auction house on earth.
 
Moreover, the company’s exalted position as global market leader has been enhanced by a succession of recent record sales. These include the two most valuable cars ever to go under the auctioneer’s hammer: the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ‘Uhlenhaut Coupé’ and the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Stromlinienwagen.
 
This new RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run partnership was signed by Duncan Wiltshire, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club Photo above right), and Greg Anderson, Managing Director, UK & EMEA of RM Sotheby’s (photo above left).
 
“It’s been a great pleasure working with RM Sotheby’s over the last five years; we have built a very strong relationship and celebrated many milestones and mutual successes, and we very much look forward to the next successful chapter,” confirmed Wiltshire.
 
“RM Sotheby’s shares our enthusiasm and passion for all things motoring and has maximised its partnership with the world’s longest-running motoring spectacle. Its brilliant support boosts the global appeal of the London to Brighton Run, and benefits all those intrepid veteran car owners who make the first Sunday in November so magical for tens of thousands of spectators. The Club was delighted to exhibit alongside the RM Sotheby's team at MODA Miami where the Veteran Car Run received an extremely warm welcome from the American motoring enthusiasts, and we look forward to welcoming them to London for the 2025 event."
 
Fuelling the November weekend’s excitement yet further, the RM Sotheby’s annual London auction – a staple on the global collector car calendar – is now firmly established on the eve of the Veteran Car Run.
 
Last November’s auction was staged for the first time in The Peninsula London, a stone’s throw from the Run’s traditional Hyde Park start. With 82 per cent of cars sold for a total of more than £17m, it was the UK’s largest historic car sale of 2024.
 
Said Greg Anderson: “We are delighted to be back partnering the Royal Automobile Club to present the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, a much-loved historic event famous the world over. Hosting our London sale on the eve of the London to Brighton – and during London Motor Week – aligns two international brands for an incredible historic car weekend in London.”