THIRLESTANE CLASSIC CAR SHOW READY TO BREAK RECORDS IN 2018

One of Scotland’s largest classic car gatherings has been rebranded for 2018 and promises to attract more vehicles than ever this summer.

The BVAC Classic at Thirlestane – formerly the Scottish Borders Historic Motoring Extravaganza – will take place at thirl est a ne castle near lauder on 3 June and aims to build on the record 1,200 vehicles that attended last year.

The event was launched at the castle on Monday, with rugby internationalist Doddie Weir representing his My Name’5 Doddie Foundation for motor neurone disease research as one of the two charities being supported by the event, alongside the Jim Clark Trust.

The 2018 BVAC Classic – the 46th running of the event and the 13 th to be held at thirl est a ne –will make use of extra space in the castle’ s grounds with a newly expanded format that hopes to top the 55 car clubs hosted in 2017. This growth is aided by a new, three-year title sponsorship deal with Brewin Dolphin wealth management.

Three automotive 70 th birthdayswill be celebrated with special display sat the show. It is 70 years since the first Land Rover was launched, having been developed in part on Rover chief engineer Maurice Wilks’ estate on Islay. 2018 marks the same anniversary for the Citroën 2CV – which including its van variant spawned 5.1 million examples between 1948 and 1990– and for lotus, whose founder Colin Chapman created the austin 7-based mk1 lotus in 1948.

Lotus and the Jim Clark Trust were both represented at the BVAC Classic launch by cousin of jim clark, doug Niven, and his 1960 Lotus Elite. It was when racing an Elite in 1958 that Clark first caught Chapman’s eye, sparking the partnership that delivered two Formula One World Championships and victory at the Indianapolis 500. Niven is a trustee of the charitable organisation, which works to maintain Clark’ s legacy and will re launch the Jim Clark Museum in Duns this year.

The Sporting Bears Motor Club will be raising funds for the Borders Children’s Charity via ‘Dream rides’ that offer passenger experiences in a variety of classic and modern sports cars in return for a donation. to date, the club has raised more than £25,000 for children’s charities at Thirlestane.

Other cars at the launch event included a 1922 Delage, 1923 Austin 7 racer, a wartime Scammell Pioneer six-wheeler and a 1974 Lancia Fulvia Coupé that will form part of this year’s special Italian display.

For show details and tickets, visit bvacclassic.com.