The inaugural Royal Tunbridge Wells Festival of Motoring will take place across the weekend of 2-3 August 2025, commemorating 130 years since the town hosted Britain’s first motor show. The event pays tribute to the landmark 1895 Horseless Carriage Exhibition, which was staged by Sir David Lionel Salomons and featured the country’s earliest motor vehicles.
Held amid the Georgian colonnades of The Pantiles, this new festival will showcase more than 20 significant cars and motorcycles spanning over a century of motoring. Highlights will include a 1911 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, Bugatti Type 35, Jaguar D-type, and Aston Martin DB4 GT Lightweight, alongside modern legends such as the Ferrari Testarossa and Porsche 993 GT2 Evo. The Cadillac V-Series R from Hertz Team Jota, fresh from the 2025 WEC, brings contemporary motorsport to the display.
Curated by industry experts with local ties, the event is free to attend and aims to celebrate the region’s automotive heritage and ongoing engineering legacy.
