WORLD’S OLDEST WORKING BRITISH MOTOR CAR AT BONHAMS LONDON TO BRIGHTON SALE

WORLD’S OLDEST WORKING BRITISH MOTOR CAR AT BONHAMS LONDON TO BRIGHTON SALE

 

 

1984 Santler 3½ Dogcart (£200,000-250,000)

The world’s oldest functioning British motor car will be offered at Bonhams London to Brighton Sale on 3 November at its flagship saleroom on New Bond Street, London.

The 1894 Santler 3½ Dogcart dates back an astonishing 123 years, making it the oldest British car still in full working condition in the world. The veteran machine was built by Charles and Walter Santler, a pair of brothers living and working in Malvern, Worcestershire. They initially made bicycles, steam engines and water wheels before mounting a small wheeled frame to a vertical boiler and creating a steam-powered vehicle in 1887. The brothers ran the vehicle on the road, but the car’s wooden chassis could only support two out of the three crew members legally required by the ‘Red Flag Act’ of 1865 and their project was abandoned.

 

In the early 1890s, the chassis was retrieved and fitted with a gas engine, but this too failed as the low power output and limited range proved impractical for travelling even short distances. Finally, a petrol engine was installed before the car was laid up for several years.

The vehicle was re-discovered in the 1930s by a Mr John Mills, who interviewed Charles Santler and noted down the history of the car. Sadly, much of the documentation was lost during the war, but the car itself miraculously survived undamaged. In the 1950s, the car was painstakingly and immaculately restored and was fitted with a 3½ Benz engine.

Surviving 19^th century British motor cars are extraordinarily rare, and one that still runs is rarer still. The Santler comes with arranged entry to the London to Brighton Run, meaning that it could be purchased on Friday 3 and driven all the way to the coast by the weekend