Marking the Mini’s diamond anniversary

The 60th birthday of the Mini takes place this year, and it’s being celebrated in Scotland this summer.

The central theme of this year’s Borders Vintage Automobile Club Classic is The Year of the Mini.

The BVAC are delighted to celebrate 60 years of this much-loved small car in a big way at their annual Festival of Motoring on Sunday 2 June at Thirlestane Castle in Lauder.

But quite incredibly, 2019 is also a year that is absolutely jam packed with other motoring milestones, significant birthdays and anniversaries, from the Mini to the Ford Capri, Bentley to Fiat and the Austin Healey 3000 to the Jaguar Mk 2!

From the birth of several very famous models to anniversaries of some of the biggest car manufacturers, here are some of the motoring milestones which are enjoying a special celebration this year:

Pictured at Thirlestane Castle, Robin Wild from St Boswells with his 1949 Bentley Special and Lindsay Grime from Kelso with her 1961 Austin Cooper S

The Mini – 60th birthday; Bentley – 100th anniversary; Fiat – 120th anniversary; Renault – 120th anniversary; Rolls-Royce Phantom V – 60th birthday; Austin Healey 3000 – 60th birthday; Triumph Herald – 60th birthday; Citroen – 100th anniversary; Ford Capri – 50th birthday; Rover P4 – 70th birthday; Porsche 914 – 50th birthday; Jaguar Mk2 – 60th birthday; Lotus M100 – 30th birthday; Mercedes Benz W126 S Class – 40th birthday; Mazda MX5 – 30th birthday.

With more than 1200 classic and vintage vehicles of all shapes and sizes making the journey to Lauder, this year’s event promises to be an absolute classic from 11am.

Described as the ‘Best Classic Car Festival in Scotland’ there will be veteran, vintage and classic cars, motorcycles, commercial, agricultural, military, steam and American classes on show.