80 Cars Mark Allegro's 50th Anniversary

An incredible 80 Austin Allegros turned up at an event at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the launch of the car back in May 1973.

Allegros parked in front of the British Motor Museum at Gaydon

The full day event, on Sunday 14th May, was the culmination of a full weekend of celebratory activities organised by the Club to mark the milestone. The fun began on Saturday in Longbridge, where more than 20 cars gathered for Allegro autojumble, rolling refreshments, a quiz, a display of brochures, posters and archive materials, and a powerpoint presentation on the history of the car by Archivist and Chairman Colin Corke. At 3pm the assembled cars set out on a road run, guided by Colin and taking in Allegro-related sights and sites around the Longbridge area (as well as a ford and a multi-storey car park). The evening was rounded off with local fish and chips in the hall. 

Allegros parked at Longbridge on Saturday Longbridge roadrun goes through a ford 

On Sunday morning some 18 cars gathered at Q gate in Longbridge for a second road run, this time to Gaydon where the main event was held. The Club had arranged to pay for museum entry for up to two people per Allegro, which proved popular, and attendees also had the opportunity to buy raffle tickets, spares and regalia, including special 50th anniversary mugs and the new limited edition Harris Mann print. At 1pm an official photograph was taken of all the assembed cars and their occupants, which will appear in Classic Car Weekly and will also on this website and in Quartic in due course. 

It was a relaxed day, with plenty of time to catch up with friends old and new and to take in the sight of so many Allegros all assembled together: series one, two and three, estate and vanden plas, Equipe, Crayford convertible and even a customised Allegro pick-up. At 3pm the event ended with quiz answers, the raffle draw, very brief speeches and the specially-commissioned Allegro 50 cake. Members received a memento to take home in the form of a glass tankard etched with the details of the event, as a reminder of a great day.

Watch first-hand accounts of the weekend from YouTube channels Alex's Assets, Agatha And Anything, Hooked on Classics and All Things Alex.

Thank you to everybody who helped to make the event such a huge success!