FOTU 2019: Concours Top Ten

Regular readers will know by now that the Festival of the Unexceptional is undoubtedly my favourite event of the year and there is nothing else that compares to its celebration of the mundane everyday transport of yesterday. A couple of weeks ago it returned for a sixth year at another new venue, still near Buckingham but now at Claydon House, and the 50-odd hand-picked cars in the Concours de l'Ordinaire maintained the usual high standards. New this year in addition was an Anniversary Class for vehicles celebrating significant milestones that was also included in the judging. After a lot of difficult deliberation I've finally managed to select my top ten cars from the judged classes... 

10. Renault 6

As a Renault 6 owner, I'm always pleased on the very rare occasions I see another. This left-hand drive import is a 1977 facelifted TL with the larger engine so it was fascinating to find the differences from mine. There was a second 6 in the classic parking too, and this seems to have been the year of Renault with three others (a 9, a late 19 and an early Clio) also in the concours.

9. Austin MiniMetro

One of my parents' most fondly remembered family cars was an old Metro, in fact one so early it was still badged as a MiniMetro. I have many memories of being taken to school in it so seeing this similar car, apparently the oldest one left, was a real nostalgia trip. There's something very appealing about a Metro in its purest, most basic form that's missing from the later cars.

8. Citroen XM

I think the XM is a fantastic looking car with styling like nothing else and the closer you look the more interesting details you spot. I wasn't expecting many Citroens at the Festival this year as it clashed with the centenary weekend in France, but this one came all the way from Amsterdam to celebrate both 100 years of Citroen and 30 of the XM in the new Anniversary Class.

7. Seat Fura

Here's an oddity I'd never heard of before. Seat had built the Fiat 127 under licence and later developed their own improved version called the Fura that was quite different from its Italian cousin. Bought new by a British couple to use at their holiday home in Spain, this is the only one in the UK and has done just 8000km.

6. Colt Sigma

Japanese cars haven't been represented in large numbers at FOTU before so it was good to see a few more this year. It was a toss-up between including this or the equally wonderful and rare Datsun Violet but in the end the Sigma just edged it by virtue of being brown and nicknamed 'the turd' by the garage who restored it. Its owners won the award for the best picnic.

5. Fiat Tempra Station Wagon

Previously set at 1990, the entry criteria was widened this year to include cars built up to 1996. A blue Tempra saloon appeared at Stowe in 2017 and the same chap brought his even rarer estate version this time. These very practical cars were fairly common in my youth but the scrappage scheme killed them in huge numbers and when did you last see one?

4. Toyota Crown Custom

This big ugly brute really caught my eye. It would have been a very expensive and offbeat choice of family load-lugger when new and many of these early Toyotas have succumbed to the banger racers. I've chosen a rear view as Japanese cars of this era often had amazing tail light designs and the Crown is no exception. 

3. Peugeot 305 estate

I was struck by a huge wave of nostalgia when I saw this; we had a 305 estate as a family car when I was growing up in the early nineties. This early example has amazing seat fabric best described as like an aggressively knitted jumper, and was loved by visitors who voted it the People's Choice. It also has Serck numberplates, which are always great to see.

2. Yugo Top Hat convertible

You might think of a soft-top Yugo as a skip but such a thing does exist. The only roadworthy survivor of five commissioned by Zastava GB from Top Hat Conversions of Blackpool in 1988, this one languished in the showroom for so long that it was rebadged from a 45 into a Tempo before finally finding a home in 1991.

1. Chrysler Horizon

This is simply astonishing, effectively a brand new 40-year old car! It was a prize in an Aer Lingus lottery but the lucky winner for some reason never used it and just put it away in a garage for years. It's never been registered and the odometer is showing a mere 318 miles. Without a doubt the best example in existence and my favourite purely because of its unlikely story.

So that's my own personal top ten favourites from this year's Concours and Anniversary Class, and my selections from the classic parking area will follow later. Standards are always so high and some amazing cars are chosen by Hagerty so once again it was very difficult to whittle my choices down to just ten. Everything was worthy of note in its own way and there was just too much fantastic stuff to take in so please don't be disappointed if your favourite didn't make my list.