While car shows and concours events usually celebrate the more exotic and rare cars from history, there is one that does things a bit differently.
Created by classic car insurance specialist Hagerty in 2014, the Festival of the Unexceptional doesn't care about supercars or rare exotics, but rather celebrates the "Unexceptional Era" of everyday family cars built between 1968 and 1989.
This year's 10th anniversary event was by far the biggest and best yet, with more than 4000 visitors attending to view 2000-plus completely unexceptional cars lining the grounds of Grimsthorpe Castle located in Lincolnshire, UK, along with the 50 mundane superstar cars selected to take part in the concours.
The public display boasted an eclectic mix of vehicles ranging from a perfectly unexceptional Vauxhall Belmont to a base-spec, hubcap-shod W140 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and everything in-between, including a special guest in the form of the very last Austin Montego to be produced, which was supplied by the British Motor Museum.
The 50 cars selected for the main concours event represented "the finest mundane cars in the world" and included a low mileage Citroen Visa, a 1993 Fiat Panda and one of just five Daewoo Lanos left on UK roads. When asked if such a rare car attracts attention, owner of the Lanos, Christopher Lloyd, replied that it did not.
The Chairman's Award was presented to Colin Corke and his Applejack green Austin Metro, while the Retro Repmobile Award was given to Luca Alpert and his Nissan Primera.
Second place was awarded to Amy Jaine and her 1998 Renault Clio. The Clio was originally owned by her grandmother, bought to take her grandchildren on days out. Many years later it was destined to be scrapped as it was no longer used, but Amy rescued it, and now it is Amy who uses it to take her grandmother on days out.
The winner’s trophy of the 2024 Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional was awarded to Mitch Lewis and his immaculate 1982 Toyota Hilux.
The Hilux has been a workhorse for much of its life, having been used on a fruit farm since new, but it remains completely original and was absolutely immaculate. To prepare for the event, Chris said that the ute was simply cleaned well, and driven to the event.
Mark Roper, Managing Director of Hagerty International, said "10-years of the Festival of the Unexceptional is something to be celebrated, and this milestone was celebrated in style. I would like to thank the thousands of enthusiasts who came to enjoy it with us, and for our special guests who brought the main stage to life."
"Festival of the Unexceptional is an important part of securing the future of classic cars, with many young enthusiasts attending to show their unexceptional-era cars."