The Redex Reliability Car Trials of the early 1950s are forever etched into Australia's motoring history - they captured the nation's imagination then, and still do today. The roads between eastern cities were mainly narrow compacted dirt strips, unlike the superfast freeways of today. Away from the main cities the outback roads were even worse, corrugated wagon tracks with potholes large enough to swallow a car and dust so thick that it choked engines and drivers alike.
The first trial was held in 1953 and covered 6,500 miles of some of the harshest roads Australia had to offer. Starting in Sydney the drivers headed north through Brisbane to Townsville, then across the dry Queensland outback to Mount Isa, then north again to tropical Darwin. From Darwin it was due south until balmy Adelaide with a quick stop at Alice Springs on the way. From Adelaide it was east to Sydney and the finish.
This video follows the official Peugeot team and their three Peugeot 203 cars. A pair of Peugeot camera vans followed the team taking pictures of the race and outback life. They didn't just film the Peugeots but many of the other entrants as well. Other cars included pre-war sports and saloon cars up to brand new (1953) cars. From tiny MG open touring cars to stately Jaguar saloon cars, most of the makes and models available in Australia took part in the trial.
There's no commentary on this video just a pleasant music track and captions. This video has been mastered from an original VHS video and, although the image has been filtered and enhanced, the quality is not as high as today's DVD standard.
