Celebrating everyday vehicles — The Festival of the Unexceptional

(June 19, 2023) NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, England — The Concours de l’Ordinaire — quite literally, a show dedicated to sharing some of the greatest everyday classic cars on our roads — takes place on Saturday, July 29, on the lawns of Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire. Originally staged by Hagerty in 2014, the Festival of the Unexceptional has earned its place in the automotive calendar as an attainable concours event offering a mix of rare cars and a prestigious location in an informal and friendly approach.

Showcasing much maligned and long-forgotten "ordinary" classic cars and commercial vehicles of the late 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s, Festival of the Unexceptional remains the only must-visit car show that celebrates the everyday cars we all know and love.

Yugo Sana

As ever, the star attraction of Hagerty’s Festival of the Unexceptional is its Concours de l’Ordinaire. Set in the main courtyard at Grimsthorpe Castle, the Concours lawn sees 50 rare and prized everyday classic cars compete to be crowned the best of the best, judged by a highly experienced panel of motoring experts.

Highlights this year include an extremely rare Yugo Sana which has survived since 1990, a once common, now less so early Vauxhall Corsa LS, a FOTU favorite Austin Princess from 1976 and a wonderful Ford Cortina Carousel from 1980.

Showgoers can also enjoy 100s of FOTU-era classics on display in the parking area directly in front of the Concours lawn, an area in which to seek out the hidden gems, or the car your mum or dad used to take you to school in.

As if that wasn’t enough, 2023 sees the first ever Hagerty Battle of the Blands, a competition for FOTU-worthy car clubs.

A representative from five selected car clubs will take to the main stage in an effort to convince showgoers that their beloved car is simply the best when it comes to mundane motoring. The 2-minute pitches will be under the scrutiny of Hagerty FOTU compere Charlotte Vowden, who has the job of ensuring the speeches are more exciting than the cars.

Vauxhall Corsa

Mark Roper, managing director of Hagerty International, said, “Festival of the Unexceptional is an event like no other, being the only concours event for cars many don’t give a second look. At Hagerty we applaud this, we respect their level of commitment, and we enjoy seeing hundreds of FOTU-worthy cars amass at Grimsthorpe Castle every year. If you want to join us now is the time, as just a few tickets remain for this unique event.”

Just 200 tickets remain available for the 2023 Festival of the Unexceptional, priced at £25 per car making it a great value day out for family and friends.