Thousands of historic vehicles descended on the Three Counties Showground for Car Club Fest 2026 – but the greatest success of the weekend was seeing Britain’s car clubs unite to demonstrate what the historic vehicle movement can achieve when it works together.

Car Club Fest brought more than 50 clubs together at Malvern from 14–16 August for a weekend built around one simple theme: Stronger Together.

From major national organisations to smaller marque and regional groups, clubs embraced the event in spectacular fashion, creating displays, bringing historically significant vehicles, supplying volunteers, contributing cars and personalities to the Live Arena, supporting motorsport demonstrations and concours competitions, and – perhaps most importantly – sharing their enthusiasm with one another and the visiting public.

Classic Car Weekly, the events media partner, reported that more than 2,500 classic and enthusiast vehicles were brought together over the weekend, creating an extraordinary cross-section of the movement and filling the Three Counties Showground with everything from pre-war machinery and post-war favourites to sports cars, modern classics, restomods and competition cars.

Car Club Fest’s ambition was to create an event at which individual clubs did not exist as separate islands, but instead became part of something larger: sharing resources, ideas, knowledge, volunteers and enthusiasm to promote the historic vehicle movement collectively. That philosophy could be seen throughout the weekend.

Club members brought their cars into the Live Arena to tell their stories; clubs collaborated on displays and celebrations; owners travelled from across Britain and overseas to take part; and volunteers gave their time before, during and after the event to help turn an empty showground into a living celebration of the car club movement.

The result was an event in which the cars inevitably provided the spectacle, but the people behind them created its character.

Live Arena host Wayne Scott said:

“Those clubs that really engaged with the idea did so spectacularly. They didn't simply arrive, put cars on a stand and go home at the end of the day. They brought people, stories, displays, expertise and enormous amounts of enthusiasm. They joined in with the arena, supported other clubs, shared ideas and helped create the atmosphere around the show.

“That is exactly what we meant by Stronger Together. Every club has its own identity, history and specialist knowledge, and that individuality is incredibly important. But when we bring those clubs together and share our passion, resources and energy, the whole historic vehicle movement becomes stronger.

“Car clubs face many of the same challenges – attracting new members, engaging younger enthusiasts, finding volunteers and ensuring that the knowledge and skills surrounding historic vehicles are passed to another generation. None of those challenges becomes easier by working in isolation.

“What happened at Malvern showed what is possible when we work together rather than compete with one another.”

The weekend combined traditional club displays with a much broader programme intended to encourage visitors to interact with the cars and organisations taking part.

The Live Arena featured interviews, club presentations, vehicle parades and discussions throughout Saturday and Sunday, including sessions looking at the future of the classic movement and how clubs can promote themselves to a wider audience. 

Elsewhere, the Motorsport Zone brought grassroots competition into the heart of the event through AutoSolo, AutoTest and CarKhana activities, while concours displays, the Trade Zone and autojumble, live entertainment, passenger rides and other attractions created a festival around the central club gathering. 

The event also provided a platform for individual clubs to celebrate important landmarks and tell stories that might otherwise only reach their existing membership.

From those involved in planning and preparation to marshals, club officials, motorsport teams, arena participants and the people working behind the scenes throughout the showground, Car Club Fest relied heavily on enthusiasts giving their time and expertise. There are far too many people to thank individually, which in itself says something about what happened at Malvern. To every volunteer who gave up their time, every club official who encouraged their members to support us, every owner who brought a car, every person who contributed to the arena or motorsport programme, every trader, exhibitor, partner and visitor who joined us – thank you.

Car Club Fest also supported its official charity partner, Macmillan Cancer Support, with fundraising activities taking place during the weekend, including passenger rides and opportunities to experience the famous first-ever right-hand-drive Triumph TR2, TS2. 

For the organising team, made up of volunteers from the TR Register Car Club and Morgans Sports Car Club, the weekend's most important legacy may be the conversation it has started about collaboration within the wider historic vehicle community.

“The clubs proved it themselves: we really are stronger together.”