Rare Drive-it Day trip for 125-year-old 'survivor'
Published: 27/04/2025
A 126-year-old Panhard & Levassor, the oldest car in Norfolk “taxed and insured” to run on the road participated in this year’s annual 'Drive-it Day' run on Sunday 27th April; joining more than 250 multi-marque vehicles embracing over a century of motoring.
The Panhard is one of only five survivors of the 'One Thousand Mile Trial'. This was an 11-day round-Britain public test, that started on 23rd April 1900 to "prove the viability" of the new-fangled invention - the motor car.
At the time, few believed that the invention would be suitable for use and most people had never even seen a car; there were only about 800 in the UK. The 'Trial' started on St. George’s Day, 23 April 1900 and cars were limited to the then legal maximum of 14mph.
There were 83 entries, of which 65 made it to the starting point at Grosvenor Place, London. The route took in Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Carlisle. Six days in, by the time Edinburgh was reached, 51 cars were still running and 35 vehicles made it back to London (via York, Leeds and Nottingham), having covered 1,000 miles in the 11 days.
The almost brand-new 1899-built 8hp Panhard & Levassor was one of the cars that completed the entire trip, and today is one of only five surviving cars from the event, 125 years ago.
To mark the historic achievement, of the '1,000 Mile Trial', in 2005 the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) created 'Drive-it Day'. This runs each year in April to commerate the 1,000 Mile Trial. It is also a charity fund-raiser for the NSPCC's Childline.
The North Norfolk Classic Vehicle Club (NNCVC) organises an annual St. George’s Day run from Sheringham to Holkham Hall courtesy of the Earl & Countess of Leicester as part of the Drive-It-Day. In this instance, the run is in aid of the East Anglian Air Ambulance - which is the club's long-term charity partner and for which the NNCVC has raised close to £80,000 over recent years.
To mark the 125th anniversary, the NNCVC managed to arrange for the Panhard to be brought to Holkham estate, where it took part in the closing three miles of the run, into the Holkham Hall estates. It is normally kept in a museum, and public outings are very rare.
It was driven by Andrew Dawson the chief engineer of 'Team Panhard' with Ravel Kidd the Curator of the Gressenhall Museum, as the passenger (pictured). It led the parade of 250 classic cars that went (via two separate routes) across Norfolk to end their journey at Holkham Hall.
Built in 1899, the 8hp Panhard & Levassor was owned by the Hon Charles Rolls (who co-founded the titular firm four years later), but he sold the car to Lt. Col. Mayhew a few days before the 1900 Trial as Charles Rolls had purchased a more powerful 12hp Panhard & Levassor. Using this car, he went on to win the Trial.
The 8hp Panhard was gifted by Hubert Egerton in 1936 to the people of Norfolk, into the care of the Norfolk Castle Museum, where it languished as a static exhibit until 30 years later when it was restored to working order by a team of Rolls-Royce apprentices.
The car is now housed in the Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse Museum of Norfolk Life and looked after by “Team Panhard”, a group of volunteers.
Says the NNCVC's Vice-President, Roy Beckley: "Our thanks go to the Curator and the team for making the participation in this year’s run possible on the 125th Anniversary of the 1000 Mile trial and the first “St George’s Day Run.”
Also, the NNCVC event was carbon balanced under the FBHVC Scheme with Tree-V. The NNCVC were awarded the inaugural Carbon Balancing Club of the Year Trophy in 2022 as it was the first club in the UK to agree to Carbon Balance all its events and appoint a carbon balancing officer.
To date it has Carbon Balanced 96,692 miles, and captured 46.36 tonnes of CO2 by planting 134 trees.
Adds Roy: "Also we are indebted to Coles Amusement Enterprises Ltd owners of Great Yarmouths's Joyland - home to the world-famous vintage Snail ride for sponsoring our St George's Day run which means every penny donated by the entrants goes to the EAAA."
The NNCVC was founded in 2007 and with over 250 members is possibly the largest multi-marque club in East Anglia. During the summer its members support (with their cars) a large number of events including many village fetes, the Thursford Gala and the North Norfolk Railway Transport Day.
