Shuttleworth’s Panhard et Levassor completes the London to Brighton Run

In November 2026, the Shuttleworth Collection entered the London to Brighton RAC Veteran Car Run with its c.1900 Panhard et Levassor, which was first entered by Richard Shuttleworth in 1928 and has completed the famous run many times.

Starting from Hyde Park, the cars passed Buckingham Palace and ran down The Mall on to Whitehall and then crossed Westminster Bridge before heading for the A23 in the direction of Brighton.

In line with previous years, Team Shuttleworth included both guests and Shuttleworth volunteers. On the car this year was Vehicle Group volunteer Fred Wakeling who specialises in Edwardian cars, Aircraft Engineer Rory Cook who has now completed the run four times, former Shuttleworth Collection Chief Pilot Paul Stone, and guest Derek Mathewson from the TV series Bangers and Cash.

Our Tender crew this year, charged with taking the car to London and bringing it back from Brighton, was Vehicle Manager Stuart Gray and Vehicle Group volunteers Debbie Land and John Montgommery.

The car arrived in record time along Madeira Drive to the finish, with Derek and Fred taking the car over the line, in a time that saw them arrive before 1.30pm. It was an excellent run with the car behaving well, testimony to the dedicated work of our vehicle volunteers and the standard of workmanship. The over 120 years old vehicle is now safely back in Hangar 1 in pride of place, welcoming all visitors into the hangars and the wider collection.

About the vehicle

The Panhard et Levassor was Richard Shuttleworth’s first “old crock” acquisition, purchased at the tender age of 19, in 1928, with the intention of entering it for that year’s London-Brighton. There was little time to prepare the car however and several mechanical issues arose during the run, which meant that although it was successful, it took over 6 hours at an average speed of barely 8 mph.

The car is believed to date from 1900 and was purchased by Leopold de Rothschild in 1902. At that time, it had an open, Landaulette style body but was later re-bodied in the Brougham style, with an open front compartment and enclosed rear passenger section.

The vehicle has completed the London to Brighton run on several occasions since its first outing in 1928.