- Tunbridge Wells gave the British public their first ever motor show in October 1895
- Festival of Motoring launches to celebrate this incredibly historic event
- Show honours the original ‘Horseless Carriage Exhibition’ with a curated selection of over 20 iconic cars and motorcycles from all eras
- Set in beautiful The Pantiles Georgian architectural district, event will celebrate the historical significance of the area in the motoring industry
- Exciting new event takes place on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd August 2025
- Details of this free-to-attend event at https://www.rtwmotorfest.com/
Tunbridge Wells, Kent: 19th May 2025
Royal Tunbridge Wells holds a remarkably significant place in the history of British motoring. In 1895 this beautiful historical town in Kent, hosted the first ever motor show to take place in Great Britain. This extraordinary milestone will be celebrated in 2025 with the exciting launch of the new Royal Tunbridge Wells Festival of Motoring.
Taking place on the weekend of Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd August 2025, more than 20 of the greatest cars and motorcycles of the past 130 years will be displayed along the tree-lined Georgian walkways of The Pantiles at the heart of this picturesque town.
Situated in the centre of Royal Tunbridge Wells, The Pantiles is a beautiful Georgian colonnade that leads from the well that gave the town its name. The area, developed following the discovery of a chalybeate spring in 1606, has become a popular tourist-attraction and is now home to over 70 specialist shops, art galleries, cafés, restaurants and bars, and now a must-see new motoring event.
This unique motoring festival will feature an incredible display of over 20 cars and motorcycles, exhibited by local world-renowned specialists, restorers and racing teams, in a celebration of the area and of 130 years of motoring.
“We are extremely excited to bring back this historically significant motoring showcase to an area that is so rich in automotive knowledge, specialist engineering and history,” says co-organiser Dylan Miles. “We want to use this opportunity to acknowledge the local businesses, which often work on an international scale from humble premises in and around Tunbridge Wells.”
Many star cars will be displayed, including a titan of pre-war grand prix racing, the Bugatti Type 35, along with a more modern race car, the spectacular Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series R that has thrilled spectators in the 2025 World Endurance Championship.
Other icons of motoring history include a stunning 1911 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, 1950s racing legend the Jaguar D-Type, and a striking 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Lightweight.
Fans of more modern motoring heroes will enjoy sights including a 1984 Ferrari Testarossa, 1995 Porsche 993 GT2 EVO, a Bugatti Veyron and a Ferrari LaFerrari among many others.
Organised by motor car pioneer, scientist and Tunbridge Wells Mayor, Sir David Lionel Salomons, that inaugural ‘Horseless Carriage Exhibition’ featured the first car to be imported into Great Britain, a Panhard-Levassor with a 3.5hp Daimler engine. It was joined by Salomon’s Peugeot which used the same engine and was only the second car to be imported and driven on British roads. Three other vehicles were displayed, including a Daimler-powered fire engine, while De Dion-Bouton exhibited both a tricycle and a ‘steam-horse’ manufactured by the French automaker.
Despite the success of this first motor show at the Tunbridge Wells showground, the London Motor Show was to take over a year later and the town did not host another Horseless Carriage Exhibition until 1961, with the last one being opened by Donald Campbell in 1966.
“It is a real honour to be trusted by the owners of The Pantiles and indeed the neighbours we live alongside in Tunbridge Wells, to honour the town’s place in motoring history by bringing back this unique celebration of the motor car,” says co-organiser Daniel Cogger, Senior Manager of Hagerty Private Client Services. “The 4th Horseless Carriage Exhibition will not only celebrate the 130th anniversary of the very first motor show in Britain, but will also champion the thriving local automotive business in the area.”
With no other motoring event in the UK able to claim such a unique historical provenance, the Tunbridge Wells Festival of Motoring will once again place this beautiful British town at the centre of our motoring map.
More details on the return of this exciting, new free-to-attend event to the motoring calendar can be found at https://www.rtwmotorfest.com/ and on Instagram @rtwmotorfest.