An Unexceptional day? Far from it

Hagerty's Festival of the Unexceptional

Saturday 25th July saw the second running of the Festival of the Unexceptional at Whittlebury Park golf club, following the success of the inaugural event last year. You may not have heard of it but this was a highlight of the show season for me so I was delighted to hear it would be returning and was very much looking forward to attending. The organisers were very lucky to be blessed with fine weather: the rain poured down throughout Friday and Sunday, but Saturday fortunately stayed dry and bright apart from a bit of drizzle during the prize giving, which no doubt helped make the event such a success.

Unexceptional, eh? That doesn't sound very interesting

Quite the opposite actually. These cars may have been unexceptional in their day but have now become exceptional simply by surviving when so many of their contemporaries have bitten the dust. Organised by Hagerty Insurance, based in nearby Towcester, and dubbed a 'Concours de l'Ordinaire', this is a car show with a difference: the usual classic fodder such as MGBs, E-types and vintage sports cars are not welcome and instead it celebrates everyday family cars between thirty and fifty years old, although the age limit wasn't strictly enforced as both a 1950s Hillman Minx and a 1989 Volvo were accepted for display. These are the sort of cars that used to be common street furniture, could be seen everywhere and were taken for granted, but have now become rare thanks to attention being focused on preserving more exotic vehicles. This show was right up my street as I can't get nostalgic about the majority of traditional classics but things like Montegos, Cavaliers and Fiestas were the cars of my childhood.

I remember when most car parks looked like this. Yes that is an Isuzu Piazza in the foreground.

Although the amount of places for judging had been increased from last year and the organisers claimed all 75 had been filled some time in advance, the number of exhibits present was actually slightly lower than last year and just over 30 attendees out of 75 is a less than 50% turnout, which is rather disappointing. Any disappointment was however made up for by the contents of the car park. Visitors were encouraged to attend in their own unexceptional cars, which they did in large numbers and modern cars were vastly outnumbered. Sadly I don't currently own a classic so I parked my modern car discreetly out of sight.

As with last year, the Festival took place on the same weekend as the nearby Silverstone Classic, providing an antidote to the exotica on display there, although Saturday's experience proved this event is strong enough to stand on its own so there may be a change of date next year to avoid clashing. A few supercar owners ventured over from Silverstone and it was amusing to see their Ferraris and Porsches being ignored in favour of humble (but probably rarer) Skodas and Renaults. It was a laid-back and informal event but some celebrity guests made an appearance without fanfare: although I didn't see them, Barrie 'Whizzo' Williams and Nicholas Parsons were apparently in attendance, and I found myself standing near the Gadget Show's Jon Bentley during the prize giving.

What sort of cars are unexceptional?

The organisers take a broad view of what is welcome and their use of the term unexceptional is really tongue-in-cheek as they are well aware of how exceptional these cars really are. It is a celebration of yesterday's bread and butter transport and the more basic models are preferred over the sporty and luxurious versions that are usually coveted. For instance, the two Ford Escorts present were not the sought-after RS or Mexico, but a humble base-spec estate and an 'L' saloon. The latter was actually something of a 'Q car', a 1.6 L with the mechanical parts of the performance models combined with a basic trim level, and never officially existed as only a handful were built for evaluation. Owned by the same family from new, it was a well-deserved winner of first prize.

Unassuming but packing a surprising punch, the Escort 1.6 L took first prize.

A 'when did you last see one of those?' highlight was a Subaru 4x4 pickup. These were once very popular with farmers but led hard lives and have been killed off in large numbers; this one was immaculately preserved, all the more remarkable as it began life in the notoriously damp climate of Scotland. A beige Morris Ital with a brown vinyl roof perfectly encapsulated the spirit of the event and its celebration of the unloved and maligned, as did an early Allegro with the infamous and much derided Quartic steering wheel. Last year I was surprised to see a Fiat 127 as these were notoriously rot-prone, but this time there were two of them: not only did this one return but it was joined by another, which took second prize. Fiats were quite well represented, with an equally-rare 128 3P coupe and two Pandas also present.

Everything wrong with British Leyland but everything right with the Festival summed up by one car.

It was pleasing to see a couple of manufacturers supporting the event and recognising their sometimes dubious past. The Vauxhall Heritage Centre brought their 1976 Cavalier in a searingly bright and very period shade of yellow, and I was surprised to learn that the other Allegro, a late model in Applejack (a very bright green for the uninitiated), was owned by Jaguar Heritage, having been part of a large private collection they purchased. This was the first time it had been seen in public and the majority of this collection are still in private storage but I was told the intention is for them to be displayed in a new building currently under construction at Gaydon.

The Festival isn't just about the cars themselves but the story behind them is equally important. The emphasis is on regularly used and enjoyed cars rather than concours trailer queens, and it was a condition of entry that all exhibits had to be driven to the event. While some have seen frequent use for many years, others had only recently been recommissioned, such as the Skoda 1000MB that had seemingly only passed an MoT a few days beforehand after being off the road since 1987. The Ford Sierra was attending its first-ever show; a 1.6 EMAX economy model, it was given an honorable mention (or maybe a horrible mention?) by the judges for being the most dismal car there, which of course is a great compliment under these circumstances.

An exceptional car park

The interesting cars in the car park outnumbered those on the show field itself, visitors having certainly heeded the encouragement to bring their own unexceptional transport, and many were deserving of being part of the main event but were not entered for whatever reason. Austin-Rover enthusiasts were out in force with, among others, three Maestros, two Montegos, a Hyacinth Bucket-spec Rover 200, a wonderfully grim-looking beige 820e and an ultra-rare Metro van, and this was a place were such cars were glorified and free from the usual derision. Visitors came from all over the UK and if there was a long-distance award it would have gone to the intrepid Dutchman who drove his Subaru Legacy all the way from the Netherlands just for this event. It had been hoped that a whole group from a Dutch club would be attending, but the Legacy owner turned out to be the only one and must be commended for making the effort.

A lasting Legacy, all the way from the Netherlands

There was far too much of interest to list individually, so I'll concentrate on a few highlights. The Isuzu Piazza mentioned above is a real rarity, never common even when new, and I hadn't seen one for a very long time; it is owned by one of the judges so it was ineligible for the competition. The fantastic early-1980s colour scheme of the Vauxhall Astra EXP special edition was certainly eye-catching and I couldn't stop looking at it: metallic brown and gold with a matching interior! Possibly the most obscure vehicle present was a Renault Estafette van, one of only a handful in this country as it was never officially sold here. Its owner was stunned that I knew what it was, especially as it currently has no badges. 

What an eighties-tastic colour scheme! They don't make them like that anymore.

More unexceptional stuff please!

While I hope this piece has given you a flavour of this offbeat event and the type of exhibits it attracts, it can't cover everything and there are lots more photos in my Flickr album, so please head over there if you want to see more. After just two years the Festival of the Unexceptional seems to have established its place on the rally calendar and plans are already being made for 2016 so it looks set to become an annual event. Keep watching the Hagerty website for more details - I for one am looking forward to it already!

Prize winners

1st: Barry Williams, Ford Escort
2nd: Gavin Bushby, Fiat 127
People's Choice: Chris Reed, Hillman Avenger estate
Honorable Mentions: Citroen Dyane, Ford Fiesta, Ford Sierra, Humber Sceptre, Morris Ital, Vauxhall Carlton