A classic vintage car is still in such great condition it managed to outperform its support vehicle during a road trip around Scotland. The Daimler, which was made in 1920, completed the North East 250 route to raise more than £20,000. Meanwhile, the modern VW van accompanying it on the 250-mile journey to carry spare parts, ended up breaking down halfway round.
Motoring enthusiast Darren McWhirter, who runs the Decora store in Elgin, said: “You couldn’t make it up. It was the last thing we imagined was going to happen.” Darren set off on the two-day adventure with his dad Tom, plus Bruce and Callum, his two sons.
The first day saw the Daimler negotiate both the UK highest and second highest routes – the 2199ft Old Military Road and the 2083ft Lecht. Although it did require a bit of a push from Bruce and Callum to make it over the Lecht’s steep last section. Not bad going for a vehicle with only 16 horsepower in comparison to the 180hp which is about the average nowadays.
The Daimler can reach a top speed of nearly 40mph but driving it is a very different experience to a modern-day car. For starters, its accelerator and brake are the opposite way round to normal, while persuading the thing to start is an elaborate procedure that first involves pouring a small amount of petrol into two egg cup-like holders. The driver then has to push a button about 40 times which works a bit like a bicycle pump to pressurise the fuel system.
Finally, there’s the necessary busines.