The 1000 Miles Trial: in a class of its own

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That this year’s Royal Automobile Club Concours is set to be a spectacular event was already evident when we took an initial look at the concours d’élégance classes last week (In case you missed it, click here). Yet there is one category we have not yet explored – and one that, in our view, merits special attention: the Thousand Mile Trial.

In the spring of 1900, when horses still dominated the streets and motorcars were widely dismissed as noisy, unreliable toys for the wealthy, a group of pioneers set out to do something truly unprecedented. The Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland – later to become the Royal Automobile Club – issued a bold challenge: a thousand-mile journey through Great Britain, completed in fifteen days, using only steam, petrol, or electric propulsion.

Their mission? To demonstrate that the motorcar was not a passing novelty, but a transformative mode of transport.

On the early morning of 23 April 1900, 83 vehicles gathered at the corner of Hyde Park in London. The scene was extraordinary: steam-powered carriages with towering chimneys, electrically driven tricycles, and sputtering petrol cars – all driven by gentlemen in dustcoats, ladies in veiled hats, and adventurers from France, Germany, and the United States.

The route was ambitious. Passing through Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Newcastle, and Leeds, the participants hoped – if all went well – to return triumphantly to London. Not everyone made it. Roads were often no more than muddy ruts, signage was practically non-existent, and mechanical failures were frequent: burst tyres, overheated engines, depleted batteries, and the occasional runaway steam boiler.

Yet wherever the cavalcade appeared, crowds lined the roads in amazement. Newspapers reported on the journey daily, with a mix of astonishment and admiration. For many onlookers, this was their first encounter with the ‘mechanical sorcery’ of the automobile.

By the final day, when the first cars returned to Hyde Park, they had travelled over 1,000 miles (roughly 1,600 kilometres). Some arrived without so much as a mechanical hiccup; others had endured near-constant repairs. But they made it – and the world began to see the motorcar differently.

The Thousand Mile Trial proved to be a turning point. It not only demonstrated the technical capabilities of the automobile, but also showed that long-distance travel by car was both feasible and desirable. It marked the dawn of a new era in personal mobility.

This year, on the 125th anniversary of that pioneering event, the Royal Automobile Club Concours will honour the Thousand Mile Trial with its own dedicated class. A particular highlight will be the presence of the 1899 Wolseley 3.5hp Voiturette, affectionately nicknamed “OWL” due to its distinctive number plate. Designed by Herbert Austin, the Wolseley was a class winner in the original trial and remains one of the most evocative surviving examples of the era.

Among the other cars that pay homage to the pioneering vehicles of the original Trial are several historically significant machines: the only known surviving 1900 Simms — a rare example of early British motoring ingenuity; an 1899 De Dion-Bouton Vis-à-Vis, showcasing the influence of one of France’s most prolific manufacturers at the turn of the century; and a Quadricycle from the same year, representative of the lightweight, motorized carriages of the era. Also featured are two early Daimlers, from 1897 and 1900 respectively, highlighting the progression of engineering under Gottlieb Daimler’s vision, and a 1899 Renaux Tricycle, a fine example of a lesser-known but innovative French marque active during the veteran motoring age.

This promises to be a rare opportunity to witness the spirit of the original Thousand Mile Trial come alive once more. We warmly invite the PreWarCar.com community to join us on Wednesday 9 July as guests to the Concours. Register via the official website using the access code prewarcar-69f53vm to secure your ticket.

Event Details
Date: Wednesday 9 July 2025
Time: 10:00 – 17:00
Location: Royal Automobile Club, Woodcote Park, Wilmerhatch Lane, Epsom, Surrey KT18 7EW
Website: www.royalautomobileclubconcours.co.uk

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