MOTORING enthusiasts are getting set to take part in a classic car gathering at airshow extravaganza Fly to the Past.

Last year 400 vehicles, including Jaguars, MGs and Morrises, took part and this year organisers are hoping for an even better turnout.

The airshow aims to take visitors through the history of flight and the classic cars will aim to do the same on the ground.

Vehicles will be divided into sections so visitors will be able to see designs evolve over the decades.

Early cars from companies including Alvis, Jackson, Rolls Royce and Bentley will be on display and there will even be an original Ford Model T.

Abingdon-based MG club, The Abingdon Works Centre, will attend this year after taking 12 cars to last year’s show.

Group vice chairman Richard Martin, 65, of Abingdon, said: “Last year was the first one we had been to and we enjoyed it a lot.

“It gave us the opportunity to dress up in period costume and we had a lot of fun. There was something for everyone.

“This year the promise is to be bigger and better so we plan to go again.”

The club will have, at a minimum, a 1964 MGB, 1962 MGA and a 1953 MG YB on display.

Mr Martin added: “From my point of view, I got into MGs because I was brought up in Abingdon with them all around me. As a kid I used to sit in the cars at the export gate before they got send to America and beyond. It was in the blood from then.”

MGs were built in Oxford from 1924 and then, in 1930, moved to Abingdon, where they were built until the factory closed in 1981.

At its peak, 1,400 people were employed at the Abingdon car plant.

MGs are now built in Longbridge, Birmingham, after Chinese firm SAIC bought MG Rover for some £70m after its collapse in 2005.

Fly to the Past producer Francis Rockliff said: “The greatest importance of the classic car display is the nostalgia and unpacking the envelope of emotions.

“When people see an old Morris Minor or MG it brings back childhood memories and it is very emotional.

“They represent Fly to the Past in the nostalgic and cultural sense and provide a huge entertainment on the day as well.”

He added: “We hope this year will be even bigger, brighter and better than last year.”

Fly to the Past will take place at Oxford Airport in Kidlington on Saturday, September 1, and Sunday, September 2.

It will feature flyovers charting the history of aviation, from simple biplanes through to fighters from both world wars and modern-day jets.

  • Oxford Mail readers can get exclusive two-for-one Fly to the Past tickets for just £30 by clicking on the link.