Fiat, one of the world’s oldest car companies, has been appointed by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) as an official ‘Manufacturer Patron’ to the 2019 Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, taking place on 3 November.

Patronage is reserved solely for motor manufacturers that can trace their history back to the very early pioneering period of pre-1905 veteran cars (a qualification required to participate in the world’s longest-running motoring event) and are still actively making cars today.

Known initially as Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, Fiat was founded in Turin by a group of investors in 1899 and is this year celebrating its 120th anniversary.

To honour the company’s new status as a Manufacturer Patron of the Run, the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu is working with Fiat to prepare the oldest Fiat in Britain for next month’s event.

The museum’s 1899 model is one of the world’s earliest surviving Fiats; powered by a 3.5hp 697cc twin-cylinder engine, the four-seater car has a top speed of around 22mph — considered respectable for the period.

Fiat became the first Italian marque to take on the Run, when in 1934 Antony Powys Lybbe participated in a three-wheeled Fiat constructed at the end of the 19th century.

Miles Wade, RAC club secretary, said: “Fiat has an incredible heritage and we are honoured that it has chosen to become a Manufacturer Patron to the Run — more so in what is clearly a very special year for the company.

"To have the oldest Fiat in the country joining us on the road to Brighton will add to the Run’s celebratory atmosphere while also illustrating Fiat’s remarkable ancestry.”

Fiat UK’s marketing director, Andrea Lo Presti (www.fcagroup.com), said: “Fiat is very pleased to partner with the 2019 Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. It will be great to see one of the earliest surviving Fiats in the world back on the road and heading down to Brighton.”