FOTU 2019: Classic Parking Top Ten

Last time I looked at the cars in the Concours de l'Ordinaire, which may be the centrepiece of the Festival of the Unexceptional but the classic parking area is even more of a treasure trove and an incredible show in its own right. With several hundred cars here and things that would make you go 'wow' at any other show almost seeming unremarkable in this company it was even more difficult to choose only ten favourites, but here are my final selections...  

10. Ford Transit 4x4

New this year was a class for liveried commercial vehicles that used to be a common sight on the streets. All were superb and it was difficult to choose just one representative, but this jacked-up Transit van with its County 4x4 conversion is brilliant and the old British Gas livery brings back a lot of memories. It's for sale if you want a chance to own it.

9. Bedford YRT

FOTU may be mainly about cars but a lot of people never had a car and travelled by bus so it was good to see one here. United Counties received 60 Willowbrook-bodied Bedfords during a time of acute vehicle shortages in the 1970s and this is the only survivor, which has recently emerged from a long-term restoration.

8. Kia Pride

This is where Kia started in the UK, a rehashed version of the old Mazda 121 that soon became the ultimate cheap throwaway car so it's great to see a cherished survivor at a show. It's lost the whitewall tyres that were such a distinctive feature when new but is otherwise an immaculate and very original example. Better still, it's owned by a 17-year old lad who chose it as his first car.

7. Lada Niva

I was very surprised to discover there were no Skodas at all in attendance this year and only one Lada, as these cheap and cheerful Eastern Bloc cars are very unexceptional. The long-lived Niva still has a reputation as a formidable off-roader that sadly means a lot have led very hard lives and been destroyed in off-roading accidents so only about 40 are left on UK roads.

6. Renault 11

Sadly not a TXE Electronic with the talking dashboard, this 11 makes up for that with its amazing colour. Is it blue or is it green? I'm not quite sure but it's certainly different and very eye-catching. I got to sit in it too and I can confirm it's an extremely comfortable place to spend time with its soft armchair-like seats.

5. Ford Executive Farnham estate

The most expensive Ford you could buy in 1970 so it must be extremely rare now. The Executive was an even more upmarket version of the 'aircraft carrier' Mark IV Zodiac and the estates were hand-built by Abbott of Farnham at massive extra cost. The styling just looks so wrong with its massive bonnet and truncated back end.

4. Innocenti De Tomaso Turbo

This sat for years in the showroom of a local garage and probably hadn't moved since the 1990s so it's fantastic to finally see it back on the road. A later version of the Italian Mini with a Daihatsu engine imported new by the De Tomaso agent based at Silverstone, I suspect it's unique in the UK and it seems to have only done about 1400km.

3. Renault 25 Limousine

I was amazed to see three Renault 25s in the classic parking considering how rare they are now. Look closely at this one and you'll notice the rear doors are significantly longer than normal. That's because it's an Executive, a stretched limousine version built by French coachbuilder Heuliez, and is the only one of its kind in this country.

2. Mitsubishi Cordia

I pride myself on my knowledge of obscure cars and it's not often I see one I can't immediately identify but this initially had me stumped beyond the fact it looked Japanese. The Cordia was the coupé version of the equally obscure Tredia and I don't recall ever seeing one before, unsurprisingly as this appears to be the only one currently on UK roads.

1. Alfa Romeo 2300 Rio

A complete disaster, built in Brazil but unsuccessful there as it was so expensive and the Brazilians were starting to favour ethanol fuel. Alfa dumped the unsold stock on their European importers but they were so bad they were eventually recalled, then sold on with no warranty after three years in open storage. No wonder the Rio destroyed Alfa's reputation in the Netherlands.

Choosing only twenty cars really has barely scratched the surface of this incomparable event that keeps getting bigger and better every year, but I hope I've given an overview of the sort of weird and wonderful vehicles that can be seen there. For me the fun didn't end when the Festival closed as it was combined with a weekend in the Field of Dreams, so I'm hoping to write up a diary of the weekend's activities at some point soon to give you even more unexceptional content.