In 1885, the influential journal, The Engineer, decided to run a competition to find a British made, mechanically propelled, road carriage that could be driven by any power other than muscle and be able to cover a distance of two hundred miles form London to Birmingham. (The route was subsequently changed to London to Brighton, following the success of the first Motor Car Club run.)
The Engineer offered a prize of 1000 guineas and received seventy two entries, of which only five appeared! The most highly praised was the Liquid Fuel Enginering Company's steam van, of which The Engineer wrote, “the steam van was beautifully made and the workmanship was superb.”
MSS have aimed to emulate this success and their first steam van is available from the 5th July 2005, to coincide with the original announcement date by The Engineer 110 years ago.
The initial 110 models will be produced to a particularly high specification, including bonnet trim, roof rack, etc., and sold at the standard production price on a first come basis.
