Today's usage, referencing the vehicle in which the coffin is carried, dates from the mid-17th century. Photo courtesy of W.R. Bennett Funeral Coaches Nowadays, the use of hearses is certainly not exclusive to funeral homes. Hearses may be found at classic car club events, on processions through towns as Halloween nears, camping in the wilderness, and even wreaking havoc in Banger racing on short oval racetracks in England. Banger racing is a unique and very popular form of racing on many English, and some European, short oval tracks. Bangor racing is the same thing as a Demolition Derby in America.
Participants fall into two distinct categories.
There are the racers, the drivers who intend to compete for a victory. The second type is the wrecker, one who has no intention of winning but plans on wreaking as much havoc as possible. The effect is that some Banger races turn out very much as races for the checkered flag, and others degenerate into wickedly exciting wrecking frenzies. It always turns heads when someone turns out at a Banger race in a funeral coach. The hearse is a welcome oddity in Banger racing and still maintain a certain value to the owners of the vehicles.