Mercedes-Benz And Bosch To Celebrate 125th Anniversaries At London To Brighton Veteran Car Run

LONDON – Sept 9, 2011: The Royal Automobile Club is set to celebrate the 115th anniversary of the world’s longest running and greatest motoring event by welcoming two of the most iconic companies arguably credited with the birth of the motoring industry, Mercedes-Benz and Bosch, as sponsors of its 2011 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.

The joining of the leading motor manufacturer and automotive supplier brands with the prestigious Veteran Car Run is a perfect partnership in such an auspicious year. Not only for the event, which this year features Germany as its celebrated country, but also for Mercedes-Benz and Bosch as the companies mark 125th anniversaries in 2011.

On 29th January 1886, Carl Benz filed an application in Berlin for a patent on his three-wheeled motor car. This date has long since been considered the official birthday of the motor car while the first Mercedes-Benz brand name vehicles were produced in 1926, following the merger of Carl Benz's and Gottlieb Daimler's businesses.

For almost 125 years, the spirit of innovation has remained firmly rooted in the culture of Mercedes-Benz as the German manufacturer has strived to provide each individual customer with the optimal vehicle for their needs. Mercedes-Benz introduced many technological and safety innovations that later became common in other vehicles and remains the world’s oldest automotive manufacturer still in production.

Robert Bosch opened the ‘Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering’, in Stuttgart in November 1886 with the earliest Bosch overseas agency being established in the UK in 1898. The Company’s first significant technology, low tension magneto ignition, was used for stationary combustion engines and subsequently adapted in 1897 for automotive applications. The ‘magneto from Bosch’ was highlighted by Carl Benz as the solution for the ‘problem of problems’.

Throughout the Company’s 125 year history, Bosch has continued to develop important automotive innovations such as electronic engine management, the ESP® anti-skid system and common rail diesel technology. All Bosch innovations are guided by the strategic principle ‘Invented for Life’.

For both Mercedes-Benz and Bosch, the Veteran Car Run taking place on Sunday 6 November, culminates a year of celebrations surrounding their respective 125 years of motoring.

The support from the German motoring giants will complement what is expected to be one of the biggest event entries of early Benz, Daimler and Mercedes cars joining the 500-strong contingent of pre-1905 motor vehicles from around the globe. Senior directors from both Mercedes-Benz and Bosch will be joining the action, each driving related Veteran vehicles on the 60-mile challenge from Hyde Park London, to Madeira Drive Brighton.

Jürgen Wittmann, Mercedes-Benz Senior Manager of Archives & Collection, commented: “As the oldest automotive manufacturer still producing cars on a global scale, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate way for Mercedes-Benz to celebrate 125 years of the birth of the motor car than by partnering the world’s longest running and greatest motoring event. The joining of such an unrivalled number of early Benz, Daimler and Mercedes models for the 2011 London to Brighton Veteran Car run will be a sight to behold, not to mention a fitting pinnacle to the company’s anniversary celebrations.”

“We are delighted to be co-sponsors of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run this year particularly as it also sees Germany as the country of celebration,” said Mr. Peter Fouquet, President of Bosch in the UK. “In this year that we celebrate our double anniversary of 150 years since the birth of Robert Bosch himself, and 125 years of the company he founded, it is fitting that we join Mercedes-Benz, with whom the company has worked so closely, as co-sponsors of this event. As they also celebrate 125 years, it will be a true celebration of the birth of motoring.”

Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee, Ben Cussons added; “It is an honour to host Mercedes-Benz and Bosch as associate sponsors for the 2011 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run as both celebrate hugely significant milestones in their company history. The support of two such important motoring brands, who between them are largely responsible for the birth of the motoring industry, will unquestionably help make this year’s 115th anniversary event truly memorable.”

An 1894 Benz Victoria is currently the earliest car to enter this November’s FIA award-winning annual celebration, title-sponsored by Tindle Newspapers and Bonhams Auctioneers. In fact, owners of the world’s earliest cars (pre-1905) flocking from over 20 countries have booked their starting slot with over 500 entries already received.

Participants will arrive in London for the Run’s auction presented by Bonhams in New Bond Street on Friday 4 November, which features period-related vehicles, parts and automobilia. International Participants will then retire to a reception hosted that evening by the auction house.

On the Saturday, around 100 of the 19th Century cars will take over Regent Street in central London for a Concours d’Elegance. At the same time around 80 future cars, also featuring Mercedes-Benz and Bosch products, of the 21st Century will arrive from Brighton having completed the Club’s new Brighton to London RAC Future Car Challenge. This display is free-to-spectate for the public and offers the first opportunity to see some of the Veterans that will be taking part in the Run on Sunday.

The first Veteran car leaves Hyde Park at official sunrise (07:02am) on Sunday morning and the 500 participants will attempt to cross the finish-line in Madeira Drive, Brighton between 10am and 4.30pm.