FEATURE
Evert Louwman gets to grips with the powerful 1904 Napier 100hp .
WHEN BRITISH RACING WENT GREEN
Giles Chapman looks at the pioneering role played by Napier in UK motor sport
‘
Gordon
Bennett !’ You ’ ll probably be familiar with the famous exclamation , still used today and often as a substitute to otherwise blue language . Yet if any colour is synonymous with those powerful words then it ’ s probably green .
At a time when Queen Victoria was still on the throne , James Gordon Bennett was the proprietor of the New York Herald newspaper . In an encouraging nod towards both the latest transport technology and global sportsmanship , Bennett decided to sponsor the very first international car race , with a magnificent ‘ Gordon Bennett Cup ’ for the victor .
His concept was that the winning nation would host the following year ’ s contest , so after F Charron ’ s Panhard won the first one in 1900 between Paris and Lyons , and then L Girardot ’ s Panhard won in 1901 between Paris and Bordeaux , the third race became another French fixture . This time , though , it was a victory for Britain .
In 1900 , Selwyn Edge had contracted to sell all the cars that D . Napier & Son could make , always with an eye for publicity and to prove the cars in competition , he drove a 6.4-litre , a 6.4-litre 30-horsepower model , on the race between Paris and Innsbruck , averaging 31.8mph . For Napier , it was a moment to savour because its cumbersome car had been disqualified
32 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run