The Dewar Trophy was a cup donated in the early years of the twentieth century by Sir Thomas R. Dewar, M.P. a member of parliament of the United Kingdom, to be awarded each year by the Royal Automobile Club

Royal Automobile Club

The Royal Automobile Club is a private club and is not to be confused with RAC plc, a motorists' organisation, which it formerly owned.It has two club houses, one in London at 89-91 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, Surrey, next to the City of London Freemen's School...

 (RAC) of England "to the motor car which should successfully complete the most meritorious performance or test furthering the interests and advancement of the [automobile] industry".

Winners

The trophy was won by:

• 1906 - Stanley twins for their land speed record in the Stanley Steamer
  Stanley Steamer
  The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was a manufacturer of steam-engine vehicles; it operated from 1902 to 1924. The cars made by the company were colloquially called Stanley Steamers, although several different models were produced.-Early history:...
  
  
• 1908 - Cadillac
  Cadillac
  Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
  
  , for parts interchangeability. The award was actually presented in 1909.
• 1912 - Cadillac for the electric starter and electric lights.

1908 Trophy-winning performance

In February 1908, three Model Ks from the 1907 Cadillac production were released from the stock of Frederick Stanley Bennett (UK agent for Cadillac automobiles) at the Heddon Street showroom in London (these were engines Nos. 23391, 24111 and 24118). The three cars, all registered in London under the numbers A2EO, A3EO and A4EO, were driven 25 miles to the Brooklands race track at Weybridge. There, the cars completed another 25 miles before being put under lock and key until Monday March 2, 1908 when they were released and disassembled completely. Their 721 component parts were scrambled in one heap. Eighty-nine parts requiring extreme accuracy were withdrawn from the heap, locked away at the Brooklands club house and replaced with new parts from the Mr. Bennett's showroom stock. A mechanic - Mr. E.O. Young - reassembled the cars with the help of his assistant - Mr. M.M. Gardner. Sometimes they had to work ankle-deep in water, using only wrenches and screwdrivers. The third car was re-assembled by Tuesday evening, March 10. By 2 p.m. on Friday March 13 the three cars had completed the mandatory 500-mile run with singular regularity. Only one point was lost owing to a broken cotter pin in the ignition lever (promptly replaced from stock). During the event, it was reported that one of the sheds where the parts were stored became partly flooded during a heavy storm and some parts became rusted. Only oily rags could be used to remove all traces of the immersion. On completion of the test, one of the cars was placed under lock and key where it remained until the start of the 2000-miles Reliability Trials, several months later. It came out the winner of the R.A.C. Trophy! Parts interchangeability could not have been demonstrated in any more convincing way.

See also

• Invicta - Double Dewar Trophy winner: 1926, 1929.
• Fred Marriott
  Fred Marriott
  Fred Marriott was an American race car driver. In 1906, he set the world land speed record at 127.659 mph at the Daytona Beach Road Course, while driving the Stanley Steamer...
  
   – driver of the Stanley Rocket, the car that has held the Land Speed Record
  Land speed record
  The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...
  
   for a steam-powered vehicle since 1906.
• Ricardo plc
  Ricardo plc
  Ricardo plc is a British publicly listed company named after its founder, Sir Harry Ricardo and founded on 30 June 1927 in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. The company is a leading global multi-industry engineering provider of technology, product innovation and strategic consulting...
  
  - Double Dewar Trophy winner: 2002, 2005.