THIS weekend, thousands of car enthusiasts from Argentina to Australia will join together to prove that the world loves MGs.

In total, 81 MG car clubs from 23 countries will hold events to celebrate the 80th birthday of the first MG Car Club.

The car club was started in 1930 in Stevenage, but in 1989 moved to the former factory in Cemetery Road, Abingdon, where more than a million cars bearing the octagonal badge were built.

A host of unusual events will take place to pay tribute to the town’s most famous export.

They range from an MG race meeting in Tasmania, a dinner dance in Lincolnshire and a midnight gymkhana in Auckland, New Zealand, in which drivers will complete an obstacle course while trying to avoid spilling water from a cup placed on their bonnet.

Danish MG Car Club chairman Ole Aaen has set up an event which will see MG enthusiasts drive a trophy from Copenhagen to Esberg before boarding a ferry to Harwich and delivering the cup to Abingdon today.

Club spokesman Chris Seaward said: “We are just completely overwhelmed.

“When we started the idea we thought we’d get 15 clubs involved, but it’s just turned massive.

“It’s not just the number of clubs taking part, it’s the span of clubs around the globe, from Auckland to Alaska and Montana to Monaco.

“Literally anywhere that’s ever had MGs exported to that country has got an event going on with cars that were made in Oxfordshire.

“Because it’s both desirable and affordable I can’t think of a make of car which could achieve this as most sports cars are too expensive and too elitist.

“It’s like the working man’s sports car and people in the town should be very proud they created it.

“What those people did in Abingdon all those years ago to create this special car still lives on today.”

Sixty members of the UK MG Car Club will make a symbolic run from Stevenage to Abingdon to show how the club’s headquarters moved.

Meanwhile, club general manager Julian White is being flown out to China to form the country’s first car club during an event at the Tianmashan race circuit tomorrow.

The Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation took over the Rover MG marque and launched the four-seat MG6 this year.

Norman Ewing, a member of the South African MG Club, which has 1,800 members, said: “I’ve never known a marque of car inspire people like MG does, right across the globe.

“It seems to have connected with people in a very vivid way and owning an MG is a unique experience.”

Francisco Garaguso, former chairman of the Argentinean MG Car Club, which has 400 members, said: “The cars make people smile and create happiness.

“I love the story behind MG, the vision of Cecil Kimber and the amazing stories from the Abingdon factory. I’m very proud to own an MG and be part of the MGCC.”

THE OWNERS

Guy Maathuis, from the Luxembourg MG Club, which boasts 180 members, owns a replica of an MG K3 from 1933.

He said: “MG is for me a leading motif; my tableware, toilet seat, and our wedding rings are octagonal, and my holidays are nearly always combined with an MG meeting.

“Like my name, my family has the initials MG. Maathuis Goya, three, Maathuis Gene, six months, and even my wife Miriam Gas.”

Gary Croker is from the Wagga Wagga MG Car Club in New South Wales, Austrailia, which has 700 members.

Mr Croker, who owns a 1997 MGF, said: “MG means freedom and when the top comes down all your other worries disappear. The roads of Australia are perfect for MG driving.”

Denis R. Anderson is from the MG Car Club in Houston, Texas, USA, which has 300 members.

Mr Anderson, who owns a 1959 MGA 1500, said: “Even though we haven’t had a new model MG here in the States for over 30 years, passion for the quaint British sports car is still just as strong. Hundreds of thousands of MGs were exported to America and they remain a truly iconic car.”

Alister Smith is a member of the MG Car Club in Canterbury, New Zealand, which has 320 members.

Mr Smith, who owns a 1998 MGF, said: “I love the fact you’re able to get under the bonnet of an MG and tinker with things freely.

“Mechanically you’re able to learn very quickly and they are fun cars to work on. It’s certainly a special make of car and its worldwide popularity reflects that.”