Tuesday, 4 November 2014

Saturday, November 1/2014

Regent Street closed for the country's biggest free car show, attracting some 400,000 people. We've come for the cars from tomorrow's London to Brighton car run - all of them pre-1905. They're not all that's on display though. Thereare some pretty impressive new cars, luxury and concept, ranging from a bright red Porsche sports model to a sleek new black Tesla.

It's the vintage cars that take our hearts, though. Dating from the late 19th abd very early 20th centuries and no two alike. Many of them tiny and brightly coloured. Some familiar names like Oldsmobile amongst them and others long vanished into ancient automotive history. Most with unbelievably small engines - five horsepower, for instance, and two (or even ONE) cylinders. Wicker trunks attached, and squeeze bulb horns. Most roofless, though a prize winner has a fringed top. Many of the owners are in period costume, to the delight of the photographers amongst the throng.