Tuesday, July 8 2008 -- One thousand revving and rearing Subaru Imprezas will descend on the home of the Subaru World Rally Team on the 31st of August. The gathering will be a tribute to the late great Colin McRae by the team with whom he won his many World Rally Championships.

Known as the 'McRae Gathering', the event will proceed after blessings by Colin's family. It has been organized by the Subaru Owners' club in the United Kingdom along with Prodrive, Subaru's World Rally Championship programme running company.
At 10 am, the McRae gathering will begin with around 300 cars, led by McRae's 1995 World Rally championship winning Impreza 555, will drive about 315 miles from Colin's home town, Lanark, Scotland; to the home of the Subaru World Rally Team at Banbury.

Sunday morning will be the 15th anniversary of Colin's first ever World Rally Championship win and the organizers are expecting something on the lines of 1000 Subarus from all over the country. These 1000 cars are expected to be a part of the second motorcade that, led by McRae's 1996 Group A Impreza 555, will drive along the M40, all the way to Warwickshire and Prodrive's test tracks.

The organizers will be looking to set at least two world records – One for the largest gathering of Subarus and the other for the largest parade of Subarus. That's not all. The cars will then circulate along the 2-mile long test track and as a mark of the final sign of respect, they will spell out Colin McRae's name on the tarmac in letters more than a 100 feet tall.

Prodrive chairman, David Richards, said: "Colin was not only an exceptional driver, but also a remarkable person and a great friend to everyone at Prodrive. Single-handedly he brought the sport of rallying into everyone's living room, whether it was through his sideways exploits in the forest or through the many video games which bore his name. I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to Colin than a gathering of so many Subarus, a car for which he did so much to make as popular as it is today."