A haze will rise above Dunedin tomorrow when engines, some more than 100 years old, fire up again for the oldest veteran car rally in the southern hemisphere - the Dunedin to Brighton Veteran Vehicle Run.
Rally convener Tony Devereux said the event, run by the Otago branch of the Vintage Car Club, had run continuously for 62 years, and usually attracted about 35 to 40 vehicles.
This year, 55 vehicles would participate because many extra vehicles were in town for the 2016 International Festival of Historic Motoring, he said.
Veteran cars are those that have been built before 1919, and most cars in the rally are more than 100 years old.
Participants will gather in the Octagon from about 10am, and drivers and navigators will be dressed in costumes to match the era of their car, he said.
‘‘This is assuming everyone gets there. I mean, we're talking about vehicles, none of them are newer than 98 years old.
‘‘Who knows? They can be a little cantankerous at that age.
‘‘I started mine yesterday and it started first pop. I wouldn't be sure that tomorrow it wouldn't do something different. You can never be sure.''
The first car will depart at 11am. Former television broadcaster Dougal Stevenson will give a commentary on each vehicle as it moves away.
Mr Devereux said this year's rally would pass through Rattray St, Serpentine Ave, Hawthorne Ave, Jubilee St, Stone St, Kaikorai Valley Rd, and then through Burnside, Green Island and Waldronville to Brighton.
The cars are expected to arrive at the Brighton Domain from 11.30am. ‘‘Many of the vehicles have never been seen in Dunedin before.
‘‘The entrants include three Cadillac V8s, a 1913 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, which completed the 1913 European Alpine Tour and completed the re-enactment in Europe in 2013, and a high-quality American car, a 1911 Stoddard Dayton.
‘‘Of special local interest will be the two 1916 Dennis fire engines which both served in Dunedin. One is a regular entrant and the other, its sister engine, just restored.
‘‘We have numerous early makes, including De Dion-Bouton, Darracq, Delage, Alldays & Onions, FN automobile, Napier & Son, Sunbeam & Clement Bayard, and a locally-owned 1907 Sizaire et Naudin.''
Mr Devereux said six early motorcycles, dated from 1908 to 1915, would also be on display.
