Hagerty UK, which specialises in classic car and bike insurance, organises many activities for car enthusiasts and one of these is a rather unusual event – the annual Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional.
The Festival of the Unexceptional (FOTU) began in 2014 as a celebration of long-forgotten everyday family cars from 1968 to 1989, now fondly known as the ‘Unexceptional Era’. With each of the 10 years that have passed since, the event has evolved, becoming bigger and better as its reputation spread around the world.
Biggest and best to date
2024 is the 10th year of the FOTU and as before, it was a sell-out success with a record attendance of over 2,000 cars and more than 4,000 visitors at Grimsthorpe Castle in England. Being an anniversary event, Hagerty made sure it was by far the biggest and best yet
Models from 1968 – 1989
Thousands of FOTU era cars lined the castle grounds for as far as the eye could see, with many owners having travelled hundreds of kilometres to be there. The public display had a diverse mix ranging from a perfectly unexceptional Vauxhall Belmont to a base-spec, hubcap-shod W140 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and everything in-between.
A host of special guest cars also appeared at the event, including the very last Austin Montego to be produced (supplied by the British Motor Museum). The 50 cars selected for the main Concours event represented the finest mundane cars in the world.
All of the judges highly commended Lewis Dickson for his 64,000-km Citroen Visa, a car that had been stored outside, opposite his workplace, for a number of years before he managed to buy it. Christopher Lloyd was also commended for his Daewoo Lanos, one of just 5 examples left on UK roads. The final highly commended nod went to Damian Brannigan and his wonderfully standard 1993 Fiat Panda.
The Chairman’s Award was presented to Colin Corke and his Applejack Metro. Colin understands FOTU better than most, having entered a car for the past 8 years without winning anything. This year’s success shows that persistence pays off at FOTU.
The Retro Repmobile Award was given to Luca Alpert and his Nissan Primera. Luca is 21, drives the Primera daily and travelled all the way from Hanover (Germany) to enter the event. Second place was awarded to Amy Jaine and her 1998 Renault Clio which was originally owned by her grandmother. Many years later it was destined to be scrapped as it was no longer used, but Amy rescued it, keeping the car, and fun, alive.
Original 1982 Hilux overall winner
The overall FOTU winner this year was Mitch Lewis who brought his immaculate 1982 Toyota Hilux. The truck has been a workhorse for much of its life, having been used on a fruit farm since new, but it remains completely original and was absolutely immaculate. To prepare for the event, it was simply cleaned well, and driven to the event.
“10-years of FOTU is something to be celebrated, and this milestone was celebrated in style. I would like to thank the thousands of enthusiasts who came to enjoy it with us, and for our special guests who brought the main stage to life. Festival of the Unexceptional is an important part of securing the future of classic cars, with many young enthusiasts attending to show their FOTU-era cars. Hagerty is committed to continually supporting UK car culture, and will continue to grow both the Festival of the Unexceptional and RADwood for years to come,” said Mark Roper, Managing Director of Hagerty International.
