In what looks like a pre-World War contraption with a soft roof and a rather elongated bonnet, the 1923 Bean “Sundowner” looks classy and vintage.

But could it have crossed 12,000km of the most rugged, contested and risky terrain, not to mention 40-50 degrees Celsius temperatures, to arrive in Calcutta and sit pretty in the lawns of Tollygunge Club?

The story has more than one hero. The first is the 100-year-old red beauty, the 1923 Bean Sundowner.

Bean Cars were made in England by A. Harper Sons & Bean, Ltd at factories in Dudley, Worcestershire, and Coseley, Staffordshire.

In the early 1920s, Bean outsold Austin and Morris and was considered in build quality and technology of the class of Vauxhalls of the era. The company, however, stopped making cars in 1929.

Beans are now a favourite of vintage car owners and a few of them are in Australia where Barlow Motors, a Bean agent of the early 20th century, sponsored record-breaking drives to popularise the car.

The next hero is Francis Birtles (1881-1941), an Australian adventurer who became the first person to drive a motorcar over land, in a Bean, from London to Melbourne in 1927/28 via India. Before WWI, his cross-country bicycle rides through the Australian deserts were legendary.

Birtles first attempted to drive from London to Australia in February 1927 with Malcolm Ellis in an experimental Bean 6 car. They reached as far as Delhi before the car completely collapsed into “scrap metal”.

He immediately telegraphed for his old faithful Bean 14 “Sundowner” still covered in Australian outback dust to be readied and left London a second time on October 19, 1927, to finish his adventure.

In Calcutta, which he left on January 15, 1928, he picked up a hitchhiker, Peter Stollery, who gave him yeoman service in Burma, cutting stone and gravel to make roads for the Bean. The 16,000-mile journey took nine months and five days. He arrived in Melbourne July 25, 1928. A crowd of 10,000 blocked the street to welcome him.

Today’s heroes are Bev and Lang Kidby, one of Australia’s better-known husband and wife adventurer teams. For over 40 years they have led expeditions in over 80 countries.

The story started in the last weeks of April 2023 when Lang learnt that a 1923 Bean car displayed at Gilberts Motor Museum in Strathalbyn South Australia was up for sale.

Ever since he was a boy, Lang has followed the adventures of Birtles and the availability of the Bean car instantly made him think of recreating Birtles’ 1927/28 England to Australia expedition.

Bev and Lang bought it in early May 2023. The car that Birtle drove is in the Australian National Museum in Canberra and Lang’s Sundowner is a close replica of it.

Restorer David Ragless restored this vehicle 25 years ago. The restoration was a serious undertaking and no “modernising” took place.

“Birtles carried extra fuel and David Ragless who rallied the car on some long-distance drives fitted a period-style long range tank in the rear compartment. This gave the Bean a range of nearly 1,000km, far more than required on any leg of the journey. There is a fuel tap beside the cockpit to allow switching tanks while on the move,” said Lang.

“FIVA (Federation Internationale des Vehicules Anciens) has taken us on as an international project for 2024,” said Lang.

Through the epic drive across 16 countries so far, Lang has been lucky to come across “some gifted mechanics who have worked on the electrical system, dynamo and other parts that needed to be replaced”.

“Back in Australia, I would be told to throw away parts and buy new ones to replace them but here in India, you have some amazing mechanics,” said the adventurist who has been supported by classic and vintage car clubs in India and in other countries.

The Kidbys arrived in India via Lahore and through the Wagah border to Amritsar, Delhi, Lucknow, Agra, Benaras, Durgapur and on to Calcutta.

They and the Bean Sundowner have successfully negotiated the Calcutta traffic. They will be shipping their Bean to Malaysia and then to Singapore before arriving in Australia.

Bon Voyage, Bean and the Kidbys!