The new Jim Clark Museum in Duns, the Scottish Borders town close to where the Scot grew up, will open next month with a collection of his racing cars on display and interactive features added.

The expanded £1.65m museum will now include a changing roster of cars, and trustees promise that the attraction in the extended Grade B-listed building will be unrecognisable from its predecessor.

“The cars are the stars,” said Clark’s cousin Doug Niven, who has been a family trustee since 1969.

“To see it opening with the simulators and much more up-to-date technology, it’s exciting. It will be a proactive visit. The previous Jim Clark Room had been fairly static – if you’d seen the trophies you didn’t need to come back.

“The whole building is renovated from top to bottom; people will not recognise it from what it was before.”

It will open to visitors on July 11, with an official ceremony fronted by Sir Jackie Stewart to be held in August. The expansion was announced in 2013, with opening originally intended for the 50th anniversary of Clark’s death last year.

“With the planning and working with the council, getting things like architects and builders in place, everything just takes a bit longer,” Niven added. “It’s a relief that we’ve got our money together to do this.”

The work was supported by the Scottish Borders Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund and boosted by voluntary donations.

The Jim Clark Trust has also undertaken fundraising activities including a prize draw to win a Jim Clark-edition Lotus Evora, which was signed by all 20 Formula 1 drivers at the Monaco Grand Prix.

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