Stroll through the fields of Grimsthorpe Castle at the Festival of the Unexceptional on 26 July this year and you could be forgiven for thinking it was a 1990s’ railway station car park.
Thousands of ordinary automobiles, commuter cars, repmobiles and family motors of the 70s, 80s and 90s are parked close (but not door ding close) to each other, while in front of the castle itself dozens more vie for prizes in the Concours de l’Ordinaire.
To the untrained eye they’re the mass-produced products of the motor industry that have been long left behind. Definitely not the classic cars that were heralded both in their heyday and in the decades after for their beauty, their performance or their racing provenance.
You won’t find them for sale at RM Sotheby’s or Broad Arrow auctions, with bidders battling over them. Some of them are probably worth more in scrap metal.
Yet what makes the cars at the Festival of the Unexceptional is the very fact they have been preserved despite their ordinariness.
There’s an absolute enthusiasm for these automobiles that goes far beyond investment potential, 0-60 time or Instagramability.
The cars of FOTU are saved because of their stories.
“The Festival of the Unexceptional is about ordinary cars for, in the words of Sly & the Family Stone, everyday people,” says event judge Sam Skelton. “All the better if there’s a heart-warming tale behind your humdrum car. You might have come by your four wheeled friend in an unusual manner, or it might hold a special personal meaning for you. This golden rule should be at the forefront of your mind.”
It’s why 2024 Concours de l’Ordinaire runner-up Amy Jaine still drives the 1998 Renault Clio that her gran used to ferry her around in, and why an immaculately maintained but throroughly-used Toyota farm truck took the top honours the same year.
FOTU owners truly cherish their rides and, just like in other classic car classes, originality is key. In 2023, for example, runner-up Sion Hudson was singled out for spending two years correctly de-contenting his 1983 Austin Metro, removing upgrades so that it returned exactly to the specification it left Longbridge.
It may not be as aesthetically impressive as an artisan working metal in an English wheel to bring an Aston Martin back to life, but this type of devotion to the dull is maybe even more admirable as so few will truly appreciate it.
Perhaps even more important is the welcoming atmosphere and affordability of FOTU car ownership. There’s no snobbery or tribalism, and eligible vehicles can be picked up for pocket money.
As a result the FOTU crowd seems to get younger every year, bringing new blood into the classic car world and securing a future for the hobby – even if it does look a little different.
We will be announcing the Concours de l’Ordinaire lineup very soon – watch this space!
