ONE hundred historic cars will be revving up in Oxford tomorrow as drivers join a nostalgic convoy from Cowley to Longbridge.

A parade of Minis, Maestros, Montegos and Maxis will set off from the BMW Mini plant headquarters at 8.30am for Longbridge in Birmingham.

The Pride of Longbridge Rally commemorates the 2005 collapse of Rover manufacturing, when 6,000 workers lost their jobs.

It celebrates the plant’s achievements and the links between the sister factories of Cowley and Longbridge.

Organising the Cowley convoy is mum-of-three and Mini enthusiast Tanya Field, 40, whose husband Jason, 41, works as an IT manager at BMW.

Mrs Field, who lives in Mark Road, Headington, said: “We are so lucky Cowley has gone from strength to strength. It really makes you remember how fortunate we are to have such a strong history and future in Cowley. I started this three years ago and we had 14 cars. Last year we had 45 and this year we are pretty sure we have about 100 to mark the centenary of car making at Cowley.

“It’s about the support and solidarity of Cowley and Longbridge too. When people lost their jobs in 2005, people from all over used to just turn up outside the factory with their cars as a way of showing their support.

“It is about cars and people and celebrating fantastic achievements.”

The Fields own nine Minis which played a big part in the centenary celebration of Cowley’s plant on Good Friday, when a convoy of vehicles travelled from the plant to Broad Street.

A parade of 40 historic cars drove through Oxford to mark the 100th year of car construction.

Mrs Field said: “It has been a whirlwind the last few weeks with the other rally too, but we are really excited about the weekend.

“You go to Longbridge and see the devastation so when you get back you really appreciate what we have here in Oxford.”

The Cowley plant was created by Lord Nuffield, then William Morris, and produced 11 million cars and employed tens of thousands of workers.

To join the rally email tanyafield@supanet.com