A car show at St Margaret’s Fair brought the story of Twickenham motoring home, with three of the surviving cars made 125 years ago.
Three of the five remaining New Orleans Voiturettes from Twickenham’s New Orleans Company, built in 1900, were on display.
Crowds were invited to sit in, honk the horns and listen to the roaring engines of these still-functional cars.
The event aimed to bring awareness to Twickenham’s mostly forgotten motoring history and highlight the quality of the cars’ craftmanship.
Robin Hunter helped organise the show after writing Twickenham Motorcars: A Local History of Motor Manufacturing.
He said: “This event is special because, to the best of my knowledge, it has never happened before.
“As far as I know, only one Twickenham-built car has come back to be displayed, in 1981.
“We were hoping to have all five of the remaining cars, but that sadly was not possible due to illness.”
Hunter believes that the strong interest in Twickenham motoring could lead to more showings in the future.
He said: “I have learnt so much more, even at the fair, about Twickenham motoring.
“It would be great to have a more permanent exhibition somewhere in the borough in the future, that would put Twickenham on the motoring road map.”
Feature image: Robin Hunter
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