While every utterly mundane car on show at upcoming Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional (set to take place this year on Saturday 26th July in Lincolnshire, UK) is a star in its own right thanks to its sheer ordinariness, the undoubted highlight is the Concours de l’Ordinaire; fifty thoroughly unexceptional cars displayed on the lawns in front of the impressive Grimsthorpe Castle.
This year's fifty finalists have been selected from hundreds of entries and like any concours, will be judged on the day by an esteemed panel of judges.
"Selecting fifty finalists from the long list of entries has been harder than ever," said Mark Roper, Managing Director of Hagerty International.
"While many of the cars might have been unexceptional in their day, today they have a lifetime of memories that make each one exceptional in its own way. We are immensely excited to see this celebration of motoring history assembled on the lawns at Grimsthorpe Castle in what again promises to be a wonderful family day out."
As a preview to the 2025 Concours, the FOTU selection committee have selected ten finalists that epitomise the spirit of unexceptional cars. And here they are in all their utterly prosaic glory:
1984 Austin Montego 1.6L
Austin’s answer to the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall Cavalier was the Montego. The automotive equivalent of a shug and a sigh, the Montego was produced between 1984-1995, but development actually started in the mid 1970s. As the last car to wear the famous Austin name, it has a "special" place in British motoring history. This standard 1.6 L has only 12000 miles on the clock and still has its original dealer sticker and number plates.
1986 Bedford Rascal
Assembled in Luton, the Rascal was the same as the Suzuki Carry in Japan, part of the very popular Kei car culture. It might be a van, but it epitomises 1980s and early 90s Britain, when thousands of Rascals roamed the streets and the only thing exceptional about them was that they didn’t seem to fall over on roundabouts. most of the time. This example has only 18000 miles on the clock, is in ‘White Van Man’ white and features a brown plastic dash and matching brown seats which were heated by the engine beneath them.
1976 Datsun Cherry 100A 3dr
The Datsun Cherry was Nissan’s solution for those seeking a small, stylish and affordable small car. Like Meatloaf sang a year after the Cherry was released "two outta three ain't bad", and the Cherry was small and affordable, and had an extremely reliable little A-Series overhead valve engine. This particular model has driven only 6000 miles, is completely original and has never been displayed at a show before, which will surely make it popular with visitors.
1984 Ford Escort 1.1
Few cars defined motoring of the 1970s and 80s like the Ford Escort. Exceptional models like the XR3i or Mexico feature at many classic car shows, but this isn't one of those. Instead, it’s a basic 1984 Escort 1.1 with its 49hp engine are steel wheels that ticks all the right boxes for FOTU. This finalist is completely original, even sporting its ‘Special’ sticker and was acquired by its current owner while on holiday in Portugal.
Other cars accepted into the 2025 Concours include a1982 Austin Allegro Series 3 1.3 HLS (clearly many loved it at the time because over 600,000 were built from 1973-1982 but today few cars more clearly define the term unexceptional), a 1998 Perodua Nippa EX (described by Top Gear in 1998 as a car for those who see “cars as nothing more than a means to an end”), a 1992 Skoda Favorit Forum (from a time when Skodas were not exactly held in high regard...), a 1982 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 L (loved by sales reps and middle managers), a 1997 Volkswagen Polo 6N and a 1984 Volvo 240 DL