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Genevieve – The most iconic veteran car?
One car which has come to be inextricably linked with the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is a 1904 Darracq 12hp, best-known to you and I as Genevieve.
She was found just after World War II in a hedge next to a bridge in London, and then sold to an enthusiast for £25 and returned to running condition. She was then resold, restored and nicknamed Annie. However, a short while after, she was the star of the 1953 film Genevieve, in which the little twin-cylinder Darracq races against a Dutch 1905 Spyker from London to Brighton and back over the Veteran Car Run weekend. Genevieve subsequently became the public face of the veteran-car hobby and can be credited with igniting the first sparks of passion in many enthusiasts.
Both the Spyker and the Darracq are now part of the impressive Louwman Museum collection in the Hague in the Netherlands and we went there to see Genevieve and film her once more before she heads to England for the 2022 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.
Enjoy!
Published:
Thursday November 3rd, 2022
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Comments
David Boboc
11 December 2022, 05:09
Great to find this article on Genevieve. I am actually working on a replica of her.
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Larry Lewis
03 November 2022, 17:13
The film isn't just about the London to Brighton run. It's really about Britain finally recovering from the war years. Note the new buildings being built, truckloads of new Morris Minors, the paving over of the tram tracks (bad idea, by the way) and the fact that she comes home with a bag of onions and so forth. As I understand, onions were unavailable during the war. One more thing, imagine the rent you would have to pay on that mews apartment today!
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John Bates
03 November 2022, 12:54
First time I saw the film was probably in the mid 50s and I loved it. I was already hooked on old cars.
However, I watched the film again last week and was very disappointed. For the whole length of the film there was bickering between husband and wife (played by John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan). I wanted to shout 'divorce' at them.
I am still hooked on old cars, though.
The real London to Brighton has always run in November but in the film it must be summer. Trees are green, the sun is shining and people are wearing short sleeves and no coats. Yes, it rains, but that's the British summer!
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However, I watched the film again last week and was very disappointed. For the whole length of the film there was bickering between husband and wife (played by John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan). I wanted to shout 'divorce' at them.
I am still hooked on old cars, though.
The real London to Brighton has always run in November but in the film it must be summer. Trees are green, the sun is shining and people are wearing short sleeves and no coats. Yes, it rains, but that's the British summer!