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Sustainable fuels available for the 2026 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run participants
The world’s longest-running motoring event embraces sustainable fuels…
Specifically formulated SUSTAIN Classic Veteran 80 fuel available to all participants in the 2025 RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
Next month’s RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run (Sunday, 2 November) will celebrate motoring’s past and embrace its future, with a revolutionary new sustainable fuel blend widely available for the very first time in the event’s long and storied history.
While some of the 400+ pioneering pre-1905 horseless carriages are powered by steam and electric motors, the majority rely on early combustion engines. For these, event partner SUSTAIN has developed a bespoke fuel – Classic Veteran 80 – specifically designed for use in heritage vehicles.
Containing at least 80 per cent sustainable content, Veteran 80 is formulated from second-generation biomass-derived renewable hydrocarbons and carefully blended with traditional fuel components to enhance performance.
The ethanol-free formulation also offers excellent engine protection and improved reliability during cold starts – particularly useful for those departing from a chilly Hyde Park en route to Brighton at dawn on the first Sunday in November.
Over the past two years, SUSTAIN’s Veteran 80 has been successfully trialled in four veteran cars curated by the Royal Automobile Club. They needed no technical modifications whatsoever. Having proven its reliability, all four vehicles will once again run on the same sustainable fuel blend in 2025.
“The switch to Veteran 80 couldn’t have been simpler and, if anything, has improved the performance of our cars,” said Duncan Wiltshire, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club. “By embracing innovative sustainable fuel blends, we can ensure yesterday’s cars remain on tomorrow’s roads for generations to come. This use of cleaner fuels shows that even the oldest vehicles can play a role in a more sustainable future – without compromising their heritage or functionality.”
Enhancing its involvement further, SUSTAIN will provide a Veteran Car Run mid-jpurney refuelling point at the official halfway stop at the Hawth Theatre in Crawley.
Veteran 80 is the latest addition to SUSTAIN’s expanding range of fuels including sustainable content, developed at Coryton primarily for classic and competition vehicles – including those competing at Goodwood’s celebrated retro-themed race meetings.
The fuel is supplied in convenient five-litre containers and available from a number of distributors nationwide, priced at £5.95 per litre (including VAT). A full list of distributors is available via a dedicated page on the SUSTAIN website here.
David Richardson, Business Development Director at SUSTAIN said: “The Veteran Car Run is a fantastic event for participants and the crowds that come to support them. With so many magnificent vehicles on display, you’re surrounded by the sights and sounds of historic motoring. We really couldn’t wish for a better setting to highlight the role that sustainable fuels play in preserving automotive traditions whilst protecting our future.”
SUSTAIN Classic Veteran 80 uses second-generation biofuel components manufactured from food waste and agricultural waste (such as straw, by-products or crop waste which wouldn’t be used for consumption). This biofuel utilises the carbon that already exists in our atmosphere, which the plants absorb as they grow, recycling it rather than releasing the additional CO2 currently locked underground in fossil fuel.
For those keen to learn even more, SUSTAIN will also have a presence on Pall Mall during the St James’s Motoring Spectacle on Saturday, 1 November.
Full details of the 2025 RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, including entry information and route details, are available at www.veterancarrun.com.
About RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
With its unique atmosphere and camaraderie, the RM Sotheby’s Veteran Car Run from London to Brighton (staged specifically as a non-profit making event) commemorates the Emancipation Run of 14 November 1896, which celebrated the Locomotives on the Highway Act. The Act raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4 to 14 mph and abolished the need for these vehicles to be preceded by a man on foot waving a red flag.
The first commemoration of the Emancipation Run was held in 1897 with a drive to Sheen House in Richmond Park. Then, in 1927, the inaugural re-enactment followed the original Brighton route and has taken place every November since, apart from the war years and 1947 when petrol was rationed and 2020 during the global Covid-19 pandemic. The Royal Automobile Club has managed the Run, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2021, with the support of the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain since 1930.
SUSTAIN was launched by Coryton, part of the ASPEN Group, in 2021 as part of its mission to create a cleaner future. The pioneering brand focuses on developing responsible and sustainable fuels that contribute towards the push for net zero impact. Through products such as SUSTAIN Racing and SUSTAIN Classic, SUSTAIN has already celebrated some fantastic milestones in the motoring industry, and it plans to continue this success long into the future.
The Royal Automobile Club was founded in 1897 and its distinguished history mirrors that of motoring itself. In 1907, the Club was awarded its Royal title by King Edward VII, sealing the Club’s status as Britain’s oldest and most influential motoring organisation.
The Club’s early years were focused on promoting the motor car and its place in society, which developed into motoring events such as the 1000 Mile Trial, first held in 1900. In 1905, the Club held the first Tourist Trophy, which remains one of the world’s oldest motor sport events. The Club promoted the first pre-war and post-war Grands Prix at Brooklands in 1926 and Silverstone in 1948 respectively, whilst continuing to campaign for the rights of the motorist, including introducing the first driving licences.
Today, the Club continues to develop and support automobilism through representation on the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the RAC Foundation while promoting its own motoring events including London Motor Week, the new St James’s Motoring Spectacle and the RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. The Club also awards a series of internationally recognised trophies and medals celebrating motoring achievements. These include the Segrave Trophy, the Torrens Trophy, the Simms Medal and the Dewar Trophy.
About RM Sotheby’s
RM Sotheby’s is the world’s largest collector car auction house by total sales. With over 45 years of proven results in the collector car industry, RM’s vertically integrated range of services, from auctions (live and online) and private sales to estate planning and financial services, coupled with an expert team of Car Specialists and an international footprint, provide an unsurpassed level of service to the global collector car market. RM Sotheby’s is currently responsible for six of the top ten most valuable motor cars ever so
