Double delight for East Surrey motoring fans this weekend (From Redhill And Reigate Life)

Double delight for East Surrey motoring fans this weekend

6:04pm Monday 29th October 2012 in Local News

A bumper event on the motoring enthusiasts' calendar will see both historic and futuristic cars motor through the Life area this weekend.

The world's oldest motoring event, the annual London to Brighton Royal Automobile Club Veteran Car Run, will take place on Sunday, November 4.

More than 500 vehicles built before 1905 are expected to take part. But 24 hours before that, the third annual RAC Future Car Challenge will be setting off from Brighton to London, showcasing the performance of low energy-use vehicles.

More than 80 electric, hybrid and low fuel-consumption conventional vehicles are expected to be running – some making their debut on UK roads. Among those taking part in the Future Car Challenge will be TV's Red Dwarf actor and green car ambassador Robert Llewellyn, Team GB Olympic swimmer Ross Davenport, DJ Mark Goodier, land speed record holder Don Wales and TV presenter Edd China.

The field of cars of the future is expected to include a Mercedes-Benz E300 Bluetec Hybrid which has a 27bhp electric motor, powered by a lithium ion battery and a top speed of 144mph, a Jaguar XJ e PHEV model making its debut on public roads in the UK, and Renault UK's new flagship electric car, the ZOE.

The models in the Future Car Challenge will be setting off from Brighton's Madeira Drive bound for London at 30-second intervals from 7.30am on Saturday (November 3).

They will be stopping at the half-way halt at Central Sussex College, Crawley, from 8am, before continuing to the finish line in London's Regent Street – the first cars expected from 10.15am.

And on Sunday (November 4), the veteran car run will see racing driving legend Sir Stirling Moss joining a field of pre-1905 motors and celebrities including Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, Coronation Street actor Tony Hirst, and adventurer Charley Boorman, chugging down from London to the finish line in Madeira Drive, Brighton.

Also expected to be taking part is ultra-marathon runner Duncan Philips, from Tunbridge Wells.

He is set to run from London to Brighton in a friendly wager that he will beat a 1902 Delahaye taking part.

The veteran cars are expected to be passing through the Life area this Sunday on the A23 London Road through Redhill from about 7.40am, Horley from about 7.45am, and around Gatwick from about 7.50am. For more details visit the event websites: www.veterancarrun.com and www.futurecarchallenge.com