27-year-old Kelsie Whittemore will embark on her second drive from London to Brighton this November.  Yet, although she has only been driving veteran cars since 2023, she has already notched up a good number of miles under her belt in ‘Verlaine’, the 1904 Peugeot which, in her hands, has fast become an Instagram star, showcasing the joys of veteran motoring to a new – and global – audience. We talked to her about how this all came about.

 

A new tradition emerges…

Unlike many people I’ve met while taking part in the Veteran Car Run, I don’t come from a long family tradition of driving on the event, but for many years my grandparents, parents, siblings and I used to be amongst the crowds standing by the side of the road, watching and cheering on the participants. We loved watching it, and loved veteran cars and, in August 2022, after searching for potential cars for some years, my father found the 1904 Peugeot and our own family tradition started.

My first experience of taking part on the Run came that same year, when I was a passenger in the Peugeot with my father driving. That was the year that had the worst rain people could remember on the event; it was horrendous! Dad drove the whole way, and there were parts where I could barely open my eyes because the rain was just torrential, and I wondered how he was able to drive in those conditions. 

We arrived in Brighton completely drenched, our boots full of water. Yet there was such a sense of achievement to get there, made even more so by the fact that it had been such a difficult journey, and I knew that I wanted to get involved properly, and to drive on the Run myself.

First time driving the 1904 Peugeot

The first time I drove the Peugeot was in January 2023 – we let it dry out for a few months after that very wet Veteran Car Run first! My Dad – very bravely – took me out and showed me how to drive it and I drove it around our village, getting used to being able to change gears with the double de-clutch. I soon realised that one of the most important things is being confident that you can stop if you need to and spent the first day or so learning how to change up gears, and then how to change down gears. 

The first event I ever drove on was the 2023 Creepy Crawly.  We spent ages preparing for it, my Dad showing me key things like how to fill up with fuel, top up the oil, check the car over etc. The event went really well and I absolutely loved it.

Verlaine debuts on Instagram

I was already keeping a diary of every time I drove the Peugeot, and a couple of days after driving on the Creepy Crawly, I created the 1904 Peugeot Instagram account @1904Peugeot.  As a family we wanted a log of what we were doing with the car, and we thought it would be fun to create photos and videos. At first I just posted a couple of videos, mainly for my parents because they love seeing them. But then it went a bit crazy… I honestly don’t even know why, but within a couple of months two videos had over a million views.

The Instagram account connects me to other people who have veteran cars, but it’s also attracted the attention of people from all over the world who know nothing about these vehicles. Some people ask ‘Is this a fake?’ and I explain that it really is 120 years old! Almost half the comments are in another language, so the ‘translate’ button is very useful. It’s amazing how many people are fascinated by the car.

A challenging first drive on the Run

After the Creepy Crawly I drove it as much as I could over that summer, getting in as much practice as possible. So, I felt fairly confident when it came to making my driving debut on the 2023 London to Brighton Run. But on the actual day it didn’t go as smoothly as planned. 

We drove through London with no problem but around Redhill I could tell something had changed, although I’d never had any issue before. I managed to limp slowly to the Crawley rest stop, where we could have a really good look at what was wrong. The fuel wasn’t getting into the pistons due to a valve issue and one spark plug wasn’t firing. I’d driven the car so many times that year and hadn’t had anything like this, so wasn’t expecting it at all. I was told that it wasn’t a fix that could be done that day, but I could try to finish anyway – so that’s what I decided to do. 

For the next five or six hours I drove extremely slowly, my boyfriend Ollie jumping out and pushing the car up even the tiniest of hills as I clutched the steering wheel, willing it to go on. Some friends passed us in their Oldsmobile a couple of times and waved at us frantically, but I was concentrating so hard I didn’t even see them. But we did it, reaching Brighton at almost exactly 4.30pm, just as the sun was setting. We arrived second to last, but we got there.

When we did finally get there, my family and friends were shocked that we’d finished, but also so proud that we did. I was proud of the Peugeot – even though my hands and back ached the following day from clinging on and willing it to make it to the end.

Perhaps because it was such an adventure, the sense of achievement at the end was great and it also made me realise that it’s such a team effort. It’s not just about the driver or the car, it’s about everyone that’s involved. My passengers were amazing, and NP Engineering helped me so much on the day. I don’t think I was loving it while I was driving but I did once we’d finished. It was such a great feeling and I felt so proud of the car. 

Kelsie winning the Young Driver award at the 2023 St James's Concours

Moving forward

Since joining the Veteran Car Club, I keep meeting people who are so pleased that someone new, someone young has joined. They’re all really generous with their time and knowledge, everyone I meet is happy to go through tips or pass on anything they’ve heard about our particular car. Everyone cares so much about the veteran cars and keeping them on the road, so you’ve immediately got something in common. We’re members of the South East section and, from the first time I met them, people sent me articles and old Veteran Car Run programmes, so I can look back at the 1904 Peugeot’s history. As a family we get very excited when we see old photos of the Peugeot!

On this year’s Veteran Car Run the 1904 Peugeot will be an all-women car with my mother and grandmother as passengers. I’m excited for this year but am also aware that the cars are so very old, and things can happen – so fingers crossed!