"I didn't expect this at all, I'm still taking it in. I wasn't going to enter, but my pals talked me into it, and the car got in. I was over the moon, and then it won... It's unreal."
Concours de l'Ordinaire winner Sam Allan's Vauxhall Astra Merit was once the very definition of street furniture - the sort of car most concours d'élégance entrants would have ignored as they left the show in their Pourtout-bodied Delages. Hagerty's Festival of the Unexceptional, now in its eighth iteration, aims to redress the balance, promoting the cars that were once everywhere, but are now nowhere to be found - cars that, to mangle a phrase from Max Beerbohm's Zuleika Dobson, were worthy of the background.
Some 50 humble survivors were selected for concours appraisal; any run-of-the-mill car qualified, provided it was built between 1967 and 1997. A Ford Ka and Renault Mégane Scénic appeared on the lawn for the first time, alongside storied British entries including the last-known Morris Marina built, and an ex-Royal Mail Austin Maestro City 500 van - one that was unfortunately stolen a day after restoration and used in a ram-raid.
The fastest and flashiest classics have events of their own in which they and their owners attend. The Festival of the Unexceptional, which took place in the grounds of Lincolnshire's Grimsthorpe Castle on 30 July, has its focus firmly on the loss-leaders that propped up the other end of the range.
Allan, a 31-year-old driving instructor from Edinburgh, spotted his winning Astra, a 1.4-litre, 59bhp base model, parked across from his valeting business in 2012. Owned via a Motability scheme by an elderly gentleman who garaged and waxed it, the car got his attention.
Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
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Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
RAY HILLIER
Double-chevron oddity proves a break from the norm for this Crewe specialist
SHORT BACK & GLIDES
Eccentric enthusiast Captain RG McLeod's series of Manx-tailed Bentley Specials reached its zenith with this unique S2 Continental.
People's choice
The diminutive but multi-million-selling Fiat 850 packed a remarkable diversity of form and function into its compact footprint
PLASTIC BREAKS FROM THE NORM
Glassfibre revolutionised niche car-body production, but just occasionally strayed into the mainstream.
A SENSIBLE SUPERCAR
The cleverly conceived four-seater Elite secured Lotus a place at the big players' table, but has it been unfairly maligned since then?
"I had a habit of grabbing second place from the jaws of victory"
From dreams of yachting glory to the Le Mans podium, via a stint at the top of the motorsport tree, Howden Ganley had quite the career
Still going strong
Herbert Engineering staked its reputation on the five-year warranty that came with its cars. A century on, this Two Litre hasn't made a claim
One for the kids
General Motors was aiming squarely at the youth market with the launch of the Pontiac GTO 60 years ago, and its runaway success popularised the muscle-car movement
A NEW BREED OF HERO
Launched at the turn of the millennium, the GT3 badge has already earned a place alongside RS, CS and turbo in Porsche lore.
Brits with SIX appeal
The straight-six engine is synonymous with a decades-long legacy of great British sports cars. Six variations on the sextet theme convene for comparison
