‘Historic motor vehicle event tourism’ is a process by which individuals and groups travel to take part as participants, competitors or spectators in events focused on heritage motor vehicles. In this context ‘historic’ and ‘heritage’ vehicles are defined as those manufactured more than 30 years ago. Such vehicles have usually been retired from the purpose for which they were built and are now being preserved for posterity. The historic vehicle movement has significant implications for tourism. Despite this little academic consideration has been given to the actual impact of historic vehicle events on communities. Such events can be important tourist attractions but appear to exist on the margins of tourism research. In order to understand how historic vehicle events can impact local communities research was initiated to assess and understand the economic impact of the 2010 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run on the City of Brighton and Hove on the south coast of the UK
