Up to 1300 Subaru's are expected to take part in the McRae Gathering organisers can confirm. Organisers are attempting to break two world records on the event this coming weekend. The first record is for the most cars from a single manufacturer going in convoy which is held by 500 Fiats. The second goal is to have the most cars in a single picture which is currently a record for VW with 265 cars forming a mosaic.

The convoy of Subarus departs the McRae's hometown of Lanark at 1000hrs, led by Jimmy McRae in one of Colin’s original cars, before travelling south. By the time it reaches Birmingham, it will have grown to more than 700 cars and stretch for more than ten miles. Watching from a single point, it will take ten minutes for the memorable note of the flat four boxer engines to pass by.

On Sunday 31 August, 1300 cars will gather at the Subaru World Rally Team’s base from 1000hrs before assembling behind Colin’s 1996 Impreza 555 rally car for a second convoy heading north, this time 20 miles long. On arrival at Prodrive’s test track in Warwickshire, they aim to break two official Guinness World Records. Firstly, the cars will write out ‘COLIN MCRAE’ in a sign nearly half a mile long and visible to passengers landing at Birmingham airport, and then form a parade of 1300 Subarus.

30 mile McRae convoy smashes world records

More than 1000 Subaru owners and thousands more fans have celebrated the life of Colin McRae this weekend.

A convoy, which at its peak stretched 30 miles with an estimated 1100 Subaru cars, left Colin's home town of Lanark on Saturday morning, led by his father Jimmy McRae. Nine hours and 300 miles later, it arrived at Prodrive's headquarters in Banbury, having been cheered along the way by thousands of fans who stood on every available motorway bridge on route.

"Literally every bridge had people waving and cheering us along with many hanging the Saltire from the railings." said Grant Hendry, who led the McRae Gathering convoy. "It turned what was an already memorable event into a truly amazing and emotional occasion."

The convoy re-gathered at Prodrive's headquarters in Banbury on Sunday morning, before being led up the M40 by Colin McRae's original 1996 Impreza rally car. In a fitting finale to the event, a sign almost half a mile long and made up of 1086 Subarus spelt out COLIN MCRAE and the Scottish Saltire in a new official Guinness World Record – smashing the previous record by more than 800 cars. The cars then broke a second Guinness World Record by creating the largest parade of cars as they left the Prodrive test track.

It is estimated that the event has raised nearly £40,000 for the McRae charities.