The inaugural Royal Tunbridge Wells Festival of Motoring will take place on 2-3 August 2025, celebrating 130 years since the Kent town hosted the UK’s first motor show.
Set in the Georgian colonnades of The Pantiles, the free-to-attend event will showcase over 20 cars and motorcycles from across the eras, honouring the legacy of the 1895 ‘Horseless Carriage Exhibition’. That original show, organised by Sir David Lionel Salomons, featured five pioneering motor vehicles including the first car imported into the UK – a Panhard-Levassor powered by a Daimler engine – alongside a Peugeot, Daimler fire engine, and two De Dion-Bouton machines.
This summer’s festival aims to reconnect Tunbridge Wells with its these motoring roots. The line-up will include a 1911 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, a Jaguar D-type, a 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Lightweight, and a Bugatti Type 35. Modern classics such as the Ferrari Testarossa, Porsche 993 GT2 Evo and Bugatti Veyron will feature alongside the latest Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series R, fresh from the 2025 World Endurance Championship.
The event is being curated by a team with deep local and industry ties, and seeks to highlight both the historic and contemporary importance of the area to British motoring. The Pantiles, once famed for its chalybeate spring, has since become home to over 70 galleries, shops and restaurants, and now adds this celebration of automotive heritage to its calendar.
‘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,’ said co-organiser Dylan Miles.
Co-organiser Daniel Cogger of Hagerty Private Client Services added: ‘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.’
Further details on the Royal Tunbridge Wells Festival of Motoring can be found at rtwmotorfest.com
