The very first car driven on Italian roads is one of the special entries in this year’s London to Brighton veteran car run (5 November).

It was owned by wealthy textile industrialist Gaetano Rossi, who ordered the car in 1892 and had it delivered to his home in Schio, Vicenza, in January 1893.

However, the car was not Italian, but French — an early 2.5 hp twin-cylinder Peugeot (www.groupe-psa.com) Type 3 with chassis number 25.

When Rossi purchased a second Peugeot in 1896, he gave the Type 3 to a friend — Guido Lazzari — living in Aiello del Friuli, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

When Italian troops entered the province, parts of the car were taken, and the Type 3 was laid up. After being forgotten for many years until, it was offered to the Turin Automobile Museum in 1955, in exchange for a new Fiat 1100.

Partially restored in time for the museum opening in 1963, the Peugeot was initially thought to be a later model, but the truth was uncovered in 1999 by Fabrizio Taiana of the Club Storico Peugeot Italia.

Since then, the car has undergone a full bodywork restoration in 2007; this year, its engine and other mechanical parts have been reconditioned in preparation for the world-famous London to Brighton run.

More than 400 vehicles have entered this year, including a large number of cars constructed in France.

While Germany is generally considered to be the birthplace of the motor car, it was France that accelerated the development of the horseless carriage and was by far the biggest automobile-producing nation at the start of the 20th century.