Press Release #3 - October 2003
SUCCESS!
The triumphant recreation of the Bennett Run has brought success for Julian Bennett, grandson of the legendary Frederic Bennett, as he proved beyond doubt that his family’s 100-year-old Cadillac is worthy of its position in motoring history.
The eight-day Run, covering the same ground as Frederic Bennett’s 1903, 1913 and 1953 Runs was completed without major mishap. By utilising the technical information from a copy of an original manual and with advice from the Veteran Car Club of GB, the Cadillac, the first to be imported into the UK, required only minimal running repairs.
Starting on 18 September, the 8 day run covered 1089 miles in a total of 77 hours 7 minutes driving time at an average speed of 14.12mph. This compares with 51 hours and 36 minutes in 1953, the 50% increase in time due to traffic congestion on the South London roads and some southern towns.
The individual daily totals to and from Crystal Palace were:
18.9.03
Margate
161 miles
12 hours 5 minutes
19.903
Eastbourne
120 miles
9 hours 10 minutes
20.9.03
(rest
Day)
-------------
---------------------------
21.9.03
Worthing
131 miles
7 hours 35 minutes
22.9.03
Folkestone
145 miles
9 hours 16 minutes
23.9.03
Southsea
148 miles
12 hours 5
minutes
24.9.03
Bexhill
135 miles
9 hours 40 minutes
25.9.03
Winchester
133 miles
10 hours
2 minutes
26.9.03
Brighton
106 miles
8 hours 44 minutes
At each destination, the town’s Mayor, who hosted a civic reception to mark the historic importance of the Run, welcomed Julian Bennett and the Cadillac. In total, the Cadillac covered a distance equivalent to 20 London-Brighton runs, the major annual outing for Veteran cars in the UK.
Said Julian Bennett: “I am thrilled that we have completed the 100th anniversary 2003 Run and kept the legend of the Bennett Cadillac and the Bennett Run alive. I am now handing the baton over to my two sons, for the 2053 Run.”
The Bennett Run took place in aid of BEN, the Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund, through a ‘guess the miles’ & ‘guess the speed’ competition. The Run was sponsored by Camelot, Fiennes Restoration, Haverhill (Suffolk), Quest Software and the Queen’s Hotel at Crystal Palace.
-ends-
Note to Editors:
*
Julian Bennett is available for
interview and comment.
* The
Bennett Cadillac is currently stored near Oxford.
* Downloadable high resolution images are available of the 2003 Run, the 1903 Trial, the 1953 Bennett Run
and of Sir Stirling Moss driving the car in 1953 and again in 2003 (all
photographs bordered dark green).
* BBC
Television footage exists of three separate news bulletins during the 2003 Bennett
Run as well as an interview with Frederic Bennett at the end of
the 1953 Run.
For further information / to arrange interview or picture facilities:
Rosalind Woolfson
Woolfson Communications
T: 0131 558 3003
M: 0831 525878
E: rosalind@woolfsoncomms.co.uk
Robert Maidment
T: 01440 702071
E: maidment@dircon.co.uk
Press Release #2 - September 2003
ONLY DAYS TO GO BEFORE 100-YEAR-OLD CADILLAC ANNIVERSARY RUN
In just a few days, on September 18th at 8.00am exactly, Julian Bennett will leave Crystal Palace in his family’s 100-year-old Cadillac as he attempts to recreate the groundbreaking motoring runs established by his grandfather in 1903, 1913 and 1953.
The 1903 run was the RAC 1,000 mile Reliability Trial; those of 1913 and 1953 are named after Frederic Bennett, his grandfather. Using the same route, Julian Bennett will drive from Crystal Palace to and from Margate on the 18th, followed by Eastbourne, Worthing, Folkestone, Southsea, Bexhill, Winchester and Brighton, with a rest day on Saturday 20th. The combined distance is just over 1,000 miles, which in 1953 was completed in 51 hours and 36 minutes.
The Bennett family’s six-and-a-half horsepower Model A was the first Cadillac to be imported into the UK. Fewer than 2,000 Model A Cadillacs were made in 1903, at a selling price of around $750.00 each.
As Julian leaves Crystal Palace on 18th September, he will be remembering his grandfather’s answer to the BBC television interviewer’s question on having just completed the 1953 Run: “Now, Mr Bennett, will you be doing this again in 50 years time?” The 79-year-old Frederic Bennett simply replied: “I hope so!” Even though Mr Bennett won’t be doing it, his grandson and his car will be.
The Bennett Run is taking place in aid of BEN, the Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund, through a ‘guess the miles’ & ‘guess the speed’ competition on the Run website. The Run is sponsored by Camelot, Fiennes Restoration, Haverhill (Suffolk), Quest Software and the Queen’s Hotel at Crystal Palace. Cadillac is contributing towards the Cadillac Spectacular day being held in Crystal Palace Park on Saturday 20th September, the Run rest day.
-ends-
Press Release #1 - August 2003
MAN & MACHINE - FIFTY YEARS ON
On Thursday 18th September 2003, at exactly 8.00am, Julian Bennett will be attempting to recreate the magic of a 100-year-old motoring legend created by his grandfather Frederic Bennett, when he drives his family’s 100-year-old Cadillac from Crystal Palace in London to and from Margate in Kent. Then on the following days, with a rest on Saturday 20th, Julian will be driving from Crystal Palace to and from Eastbourne, Worthing, Folkestone, Southsea, Bexhill, Winchester and Brighton - a combined distance of just over 1,000 miles.
Not only is Julian Bennett recreating his grandfather’s 1903 Run, but also his 1913 and 1953 Runs. The 1903 venture was the RAC 1000 mile Reliability Trial, those in 1913 and 1953 are named after motor engineering pioneer Mr Bennett, who had imported that first Cadillac into the UK shortly after the marque had made its debut at the 1903 New York Auto Show. Fewer than 2,000 of the Model A Cadillacs were produced that year, costing around $750.00 each.
The Cadillac still bears its original registration number, YU 1974, and has been recently MOT’d in preparation for the Run. Single cylindered with six-and-a-half horsepower, it has two forward gears and one reverse. In 1953, its top speed was 30mph, and petrol consumption was a respectable 30-mpg. Not restricted to the Bennett Runs, the Cadillac regularly took part in the London to Brighton Rallies – one of Mr Bennett’s co-drivers being a young racing driver, Stirling Moss.
On the 1953 Run, Frederic Bennett recorded an average speed of 21.25mph over a period of 51 hours and 36 minutes. That was actually faster than in 1903 when he was restricted by a 12mph speed limit in towns and 20mph elsewhere
The car is still very much in its original state, with three original wheels and one which was an emergency replacement following a collision in 1903 with a steam omnibus near Sevenoaks. This resulted in a pony and cart and train dash to London to collect a sample wheel, the only other American wheel in the country, as a replacement. The marks of Mr Bennett’s impromptu repairs are still visible on the singed wood where he enlarged the centre hole with a red-hot poker to fit the new wheel to the Cadillac axle.
On the rest day, Saturday 20th September, the Bennett Cadillac will be on show as part of a Cadillac Spectacular Day in Crystal Palace Park, the location both of the 1903 Trial and of the UK’s first motor manufacturers’ Motor Show in 1903.
Also on show will be another example of Mr Bennett’s association with early Cadillacs: a 1/3 replica model made in London in 1912 under the direction of Frederic Bennett and purchased by Queen Alexandra as a gift for her grandson Prince Olaf of Norway. In 1948, Prince Olaf donated the car to the Norsk Teknisk Museum, which is shipping it over for the duration of the event. Of the three baby Cadillacs made, the two sold to Royalty still exist and the third is understood to be in a private collection in America.
The Bennett Run is taking place in aid of BEN – the Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund – through a ‘guess the miles + guess the times’ competition on the Run website, and supported by Camelot, Fiennes Restoration, Haverhill (Suffolk), Quest Software, Crystal Palace Park and The Queen’s Hotel at Crystal Palace.
-ends-
Rosalind Woolfson
Woolfson Communications
T: 0131 558 3003
M: 0831 525878
E: rosalind@woolfsoncomms.co.uk
Robert Maidment
T: 01440 702071
E: maidment@dircon.co.uk