One Hundred Years of 'Austin' and Car Production at Longbridge

Organised by the Federation of Austin Clubs, a major three-day celebration in the West Midlands in July 2005 marked 100 years since the founding of the Austin Motor Company and a century of continuous motor vehicle production at the famous Longbridge factory, known to many as 'The Austin'.

The programme of events began on the Friday evening with a dinner in Droitwich, followed on the Saturday morning by a cavalcade of 116 Austin and Longbridge vehicles from Victoria Square in Birmingham city centre to Cofton Park for the largest ever gathering of Austin vehicles.

Throughout the weekend the weather could not have been better and even the uncertainty surrounding the future of 'The Austin' did little to dampen the mood of the once-in-a-lifetime celebration.

The pictures show some of the diverse range of vehicles that took part and some other scenes from a piece of Austin history.