Young talent, old technology: Megan and her Humberette head for Brighton

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It is no longer news that the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is attracting an increasing number of younger participants. Even so, another notable newcomer will line up at the start this year. Twenty-seven-year-old Megan Casey is exchanging her place beside the route for one behind the wheel of a recently acquired 1903 Humberette.

Together with her boyfriend Alex Saunders, the young enthusiast from Bedfordshire already has experience with early vehicles. Through her family, she was introduced to traction engines and steam technology, while Alex owns a steam car. Megan herself began with a 1967 MG Roadster, but her interest gradually shifted towards the pioneering years of motoring.

Last year, she followed Alex and several friends during the Veteran Car Run on a three-seat tandem. The variety of cars, their often remarkable life stories and the camaraderie among the participants made a deep impression. ‘These vehicles have led extraordinary lives,’ Megan explains. ‘I find it fascinating to keep discovering more about them.’

That experience inspired her ambition to own a veteran car herself. After a lengthy search, an affordable Humberette came into view: precisely the kind of simple yet characterful machine Megan had been looking for. ‘It looks exactly as I think a proper veteran car should,’ she says. ‘And it was a British car that needed to come home.’

The car proved to have been registered originally in Kent, close to the area where Megan was born and raised. That settled the matter.

The Humberette has not participated in the London to Brighton Run since the 1970s. After passing through the hands of several owners in Kent, it was sold to a museum in Stockholm in 1978. The car remained there for more than four decades, until Megan succeeded in acquiring it at auction.

Some work is still required before its return to British roads. A new fuel tank is being made, while several components have been replaced due to wear in the front axle. New tyres have also been fitted and the gearbox internals are being inspected.

Megan has now completed her first cautious drives through the village. Driving a 123-year-old Humberette is proving rather different from taking the wheel of her MG. ‘With varying degrees of success,’ she says with a laugh. ‘It is certainly challenging, but tremendous fun. The car constantly puts a smile on my face. I still need some practice before Brighton, but we will get there.’

That challenge is an important part of the attraction. A veteran car demands not only driving ability, but also mechanical understanding and a willingness to improvise. ‘If something goes wrong, you do not have to connect the car to a computer. You open the bonnet, roll up your sleeves and try to find the problem. Slowly, you really do build a relationship with a car like this. It has its own character and peculiarities.’

On Sunday 1 November, Megan will set off from Hyde Park on her first London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. After more than forty years in Sweden, the little Humberette is returning to Brighton – driven by a new generation determined to keep the oldest motor cars on the road.

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