Arriving back at Whitehall on 12 May 1900 at 6.45pm. Car A17 in the foreground is a Panhard, owned and driven by the Hon Charles Rolls.
TURNING MILES INTO SMILES
British motoring had to overturn‘ distrust and dislike’ before putting the country on wheels, and the 1,000 Mile Trial around Britain of 1900 was an audacious way to do it, as Giles Chapman explains
One thousand miles. It’ s one of the most inspiring and sought-after distances in the history of the car in Britain. A magic motoring number, for sure.
According to some experts, the era of the 1,000-mile electric car, possibly with solar assistance or solidstate batteries, is on the horizon. You could then get from John o’ Groats to Land’ s End on one charge, with some left over to circle round looking for a parking place.
A few years ago, the Bloodhound SSC project aimed to catapult Britain to world land speed record supremacy, with a rocket-powered‘ car’ boasting a 1,000mph-plus top whack. The funding ran out even before the search began for somewhere long and flat enough to attempt this, which was a shame.
Go back 60 or 70 years, and 1,000 miles has other connotations. As the M1 opened, we were told to look forward to a motorway network at least 1,000 miles long( it’ s actually 2,300 today). Still, in the late 1950s, numerous brand new cars couldn’ t go further than 1,000 miles without needing the attention of the grease-gun to keep them running!
However, spool back a colossal 125 years and you’ d find 1,000 miles was the awe-inspiring challenge laid down by the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, the immediate ancestor of today’ s Royal Automobile Club.
In 1900, the era of cars as consumer products was still dawning, and the general public were fairly hostile towards them. Just how well would the few‘ production’ models and spluttering prototypes cope over 1,000 miles? For everyone concerned, it was a moonshot; a motoring feat for which there was no precedent.
The impetus for this momentous demonstration of mechanical stamina came from Claude Johnson, the Club’ s first full-time Secretary and a man dedicated to promoting motoring in any and every form. He wanted his 1,000 Mile Trial‘ to remove feelings of distrust and dislike’ in the public about cars. Because, then, they
18 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run