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SUMMARY:Hagerty Festival of the Unexpected\, Lincs
DESCRIPTION:2025 marks 11 years of the Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional\, the only event to celebrate the brilliance of basic when it comes to mundane motors. This unique festival continues to grow in popularity\, with owners and visitors from all over the world\, but what is an ‘Unexceptional’ car? Hagerty experts explain what makes a forgotten motor a FOTU hero. \nGrimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire is a typical classic car event location\, with pristine heritage lawns and gardens\, beautiful woodland and of course\, a wonderful stately home that is steeped in history. It’s where you might expect to see a display of highly collectible classics\, heralded for their beauty\, performance or racing provenance\, many worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. But Festival of the Unexceptional is about the cars you won’t find in glossy auction catalogues\, it’s about the cars we can all relate to\, because we owned them\, or our parents owned them. \nTo the untrained eye these are the mass-produced cars of the motor industry that have long been left behind\, but thanks to FOTU\, the Unexceptional movement is growing\, celebrating the ordinary automobiles\, commuter cars\, repmobiles and family motors of the 70s\, 80s and 90s. Like any prestigious classic car show\, it even has its own concours\, where 50 much-loved models will be judged in front of the castle as part of the Concours de l’Ordinaire. \n \nWhat makes cars like this the stars of the Festival of the Unexceptional is the fact they have been preserved despite their ordinariness. Their owners’ enthusiasm goes far beyond investment potential\, 0-60 mph times or Instagram aura. Consider this – a quick Google search will likely find the part needed for a 60s Italian sportscar\, but try the same exercise for a part for a Talbot Solara\, now that’s not so easy. These cars are a labour of love\, not built for profit or collectibility and keeping them in concours condition is an exceptional feat in itself. \nThen there’s the memories. Perhaps your parents had an Austin Maxi you remember well\, or you lusted after the new Fiesta Popular of your neighbour. Maybe it was the Skoda Rapide Coupe that always caught your eye in the local showroom or the Yugo 45 you saw in one of the many motoring magazines of the era. Whatever the reason\, the cars of FOTU all have a story to tell. \nOne such story is that of 2025 Concours de l’Ordinaire runner-up Amy Jaine\, who still drives the 1998 Renault Clio that her gran used to ferry her around in\, Now she takes her gran out for day trips. A great story helped an immaculately maintained but thoroughly-used Toyota Hilux take top honours the same year. As with many classics\, there is always a story behind the car. \n \nFOTU owners also cherish originality. In 2023\, Concours runner-up Sion Hudson spent two years correctly de-specifying his 1983 Austin Metro\, removing upgrades added by its previous owner so that it returned exactly to the specification it had when it left the Austin-Rover factory in Longbridge. This included removing side-repeater indicators for extremely hard to find blanking plates\, a reflection of the devotion to these cars that so many can appreciate. \nPerhaps even more important is the welcoming atmosphere and affordability of FOTU car ownership. There’s no snobbery or tribalism and some eligible vehicles can be picked up for pocket money. As a result\, the FOTU crowd seems to get younger every year\, bringing new blood into the classic car world and helping to secure its future and inspire others. \nMark Roper\, Managing Director of classic vehicle insurer Hagerty UK\, said\, “Festival of the Unexceptional and FOTU-era cars offer a way for more people to enjoy owing a classic\, and to be a part of a unique element of emerging car culture. Hagerty launched FOTU 11 years ago\, and every year it gets bigger and better. 2025 will be a great family event and we look forward to welcoming fans of unexceptional cars on 26 July.“ \nTickets for the 2025 Festival of the Unexceptional are available now\, giving visitors full access to what could be the peak era of FOTU cars. Entry is free for children under 15 and all tickets include the opportunity to watch a live recording of the Smith & Sniff podcast. FOTU is as much about family as it is about unexceptional cars and visitors will be treated to a host of live entertainment throughout the day\, thousands of unexceptional cars and there will be relevant trade stands and presentations.
URL:https://kickstartandmagneto.com/event/hagerty-festival-of-the-unexpected-lincs/
CATEGORIES:Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://kickstartandmagneto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2024_Hagerty_Festival_of_the_Unexceptional_winners.jpg
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