Sometimes cars can be so unexceptional that they become, well, exceptional.
That’s the theory behind the Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional, the 11th instalment of which was held recently at the appropriately named Grimsthorpe Castle in the heart of Lincolnshire, UK.
Proving once again that unexceptional cars have an exceptional following, thousands of guests and cars from around the world attended the event, with the very best of the worst presented in the Concours de L’Ordinaire.
The concours lawns were filled with all manner of mundane automotive rarities including Austin Maxis and Allegros, Vauxhall Novas, Trabants, Ladas, and Datsuns.
Despite fierce competition from the likes of a showroom condition, base model Ford Granada Mk1 2.0-litre with manual gearbox, it was a humble 1992 Škoda Favorit Forum that took first place in the cherished Concours de L’Ordinaire.
Owner Simon Packowski united the judges with his showroom standard Škoda, a car so basic it doesn’t even have a radio and which was heading for the scrapheap thanks to a failed head gasket before its White Knight arrived. In an eponymous twist, the Favorit Forum also won the People’s Choice Award, as voted by guests of the show.
Second place went to a base model 1999 Ford Mondeo also rescued form the back of a transporter and spared the dastardly but undeniably entertaining fate of being turned into a banger racer.
The keen-eyed purchaser apparently dropped £6000 on bringing the Mondeo up to FOTU standard, with his efforts catching the eye of a judging team that included renowned automotive journalists Steve Cropley, Andrew Frankel, and Richard Bremner among others.
Third step on the FOTU podium went to a bright yellow 1979 Citroën Visa Club, apparently one of only three still surviving and still in immaculate condition.
Special mentions went to a Talbot Solara with car and driver having taken a 1600km road trip to get to the 2025 Festival. Other unexceptional notables included a Fiat Multipla, Bedford Rascal, Rover 214si, and Citroën Berlingo van.
Among the host of special guest cars at the event were a selection of British Leyland prototypes supplied by the British Motor Museum. These included a 1969 Mini 9X hatchback prototype, the British Leyland ECV3 from 1981 and a 1975 Triumph SD2 prototype.
Mark Roper, managing director of Hagerty International, said: “Festival of the Unexceptional continues to grow bigger with every year. Over the past 11 years we have seen FOTU-era cars become recognised as proper classic cars, and the younger owner demographic shows this is a new movement in car culture.”
