The club boasts a rich history but was in decline a few years ago. Since then, it has been revitalised. Founded originally as an exclusive club for the elite, it is now opening up to young people—and even to women. Secretary Thierry Inghels and Chairwoman Countess Anne-Caroline d’Ursel explore the club's history and share their ambitions for the future.
As numerous iconic images attest, the streets of New York in 1900 were dominated almost entirely by horse-drawn carriages, with only the occasional rare automobile in sight. On the eve of the First World War, the situation had reversed. This was the era in which the first automobile clubs were founded, including those closer to home. “Today, there are just four major European auto clubs from that period still in existence,” says Thierry Inghels. “The oldest is the Automobile Club de France, headquartered at the Place de la Concorde. It remains an extremely exclusive and private society, founded in 1895 by the—Belgian—Baron Étienne van Zuylen. A year later, the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium was formed. In 1897, the Royal Automobile Club in England followed. And in 1899, we came along. The Flemish, however, held certain reservations about Belgium, and so established their own branch: the Automobile Club of Flanders.”
The founders were, of course, individuals from affluent and noble families who owned automobiles.
“The club advocated for the interests of motorists and car manufacturers,” Inghels continues. “It also issued driving licences, travel passes, and visas, and it had several locations in Ghent, including on the Kouter and in the Veldstraat. There was even a club garage for the storage and maintenance of cars, notably in the Wolwevers Chapel in the Kortedagsteeg.”
To mark its 125th anniversary, the club's leaders are currently digitising its extensive archives and working on a commemorative book. “Even before the First World War, the club organised both recreational drives and sporting events, including speed trials,” says Inghels. “But it really became known in 1959 with the Grand Prix of Ghent—a race featuring street cars in a touring class around the Watersportbaan. This event put us on the international map in the 1960s and 70s, along with the Standing and Flying Kilometre held on the Kennedylaan between Zelzate and Ghent, where the British would come with their pre-war Bentleys. The timing cables are still embedded in the ground there today.”
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