FESTIVAL OF UNEXCEPTIONAL CONCOURS D’ORDINAIRE
IN JULY UK-based Hagert y’s Insurance will be hosting t he fift h staging of the Unexceptional Concours d’Ordinaire, for exceptiona lly ordinar y, but now rare and – perhaps – classic vehicles.
Celebrating t he unexceptiona l and best forgotten mechanical dross t hat littered t he roads over the years, the Concours is open to a ll ‘ordinar y’ vehicles from 1966 to 1990 and will be held in t he grounds of Stowe House, Buckinghamshire, a venue t hat is any t hing but unexceptiona l.
The expert ly-selected 45 ‘of ficia l’ unexceptiona l entries for 2018 will be joined by a handful of extraordinarily ordinar y vehicles hand-picked from t he v isitor’s car park and inv ited to join t he main concours participants on the Stowe display law n
To mark the fifth anniversar y of t he pioneering event – t he first of its k ind in Europe – a handful of the winners and ‘people’s choice’ cars from prev ious years will a lso be ex hibited, as will a few manufacturers’ classic vehicles, in a specia l Fif t h Anniversar y display.
Past winners have included an immaculate and rare Nissan Cherr y Europe, a Morris Marina pick-up, a crowd-pleasing Hillman Avenger Super Estate, plus an as-new 1983 Datsun Sunny 1.5 SGL.
The light-hearted ‘Feast of t he Unexceptional’ will return wit h participants again encouraged to pack a period picnic, wit h food and drink reflecting t he era of t heir car.
Origina lly staged in 2014 and t he first event of its k ind in Europe – to celebrate t he ordinar y, ever yday cars from t he 60s,70, 80s and 90s t hat have a ll but disappeared.
Festiva l of t he Unexceptional (FOTU) has already become a mustattend event wit h a rea l cult status for t he admirers of the mundane cars of t he past including Morris Metros (as well as Marinas) Vaux hall Chevettes, Hillman Hunters, Austin Montegos and Allegros, Toyota Corollas and much more mundanity from British and European brands.
Early nominations for t he 2018 FOTU include a rare Volkswagen 412 and base t hree-door Golf Mark I, a Volvo 66 DL, Citroen GS X1 and Fiat Strada.