Festival of the Unexceptional 2026: Summer’s must-see classic car celebration
Thu, 28 May 2026
Hagerty’s Festival of the Unexceptional is not like other car shows. Even those with little to no interest in anything on four – or three – wheels find themselves charmed by this cavalcade of everyday streetscapes from our collective youth, embracing the comforting delight that only nostalgia engenders.
That classic car shows celebrate rarities isn’t news, but instead of worshipping bespoke and few-off creations designed for millionaires a century ago, the assortment of cars at the Festival of the Unexceptional – shortened to FOTU for both convenience and socials – is seldom seen because so few of its ranks still exist.
Those that do are exceptional because they were so unexceptional when they were new. Ordinary cars, the kind your parents, friends’ parents and neighbours drove, which fulfilled an almost appliance-like role in providing households’ personal transportation, but little else.
In 2026, FOTU’s focus – in the senses of both the centre of attention and the original version of the popular family-sized Ford – are everyday motors built between 1971 and 2001. The lowlier the trim level, the more love they garner.
What makes FOTU different?
Beyond providing automotive enthusiasts with a valuations service, specialist insurance packages and club membership, Hagerty’s UK operation also hosts a number of carefully themed vehicular events. Festival of the Unexceptional is the jewel in its crown – and all the better for it if said bejewelled headwear was an Elizabeth Duke diamante tiara chosen from the Argos catalogue.
Lincolnshire’s Grimsthorpe Castle once again plays host to FOTU, with this year’s event being held on Saturday 25 July 2026. Tickets are priced at £25 per person, discounted to £18.75 for members of the Hagerty Driver’s Club, while under 15s are free.
Automotive dopamine will be administered on the expansive lawns in front of the castle, courtesy of row upon row of classic hatchbacks, saloons, estates, MPVs, SUVs, vans and pickups, plus a smattering of un-sporty coupes and convertibles. Any curious noises you’ll hear won’t be from an EV performing low-speed manoeuvres, but squealing alternators and slightly blowy exhausts.
Many of the vehicles brought along by the proud owners were among yesteryear’s best-sellers, once common sights on the nation’s roads. Yet these formerly omnipresent motors embodied ordinariness to such great effect that we stopped noticing them – until such time as there were so few of them around it’s impossible not to notice them, usually accompanied by involuntary gasps and finger-pointing.
Further amplifying the frenzy of FOTU’s attendees are bargain-basement examples of those once omnipresent cars. It’s a wholesome world where City bests Vandan Plas, Popular trumps Ghia and Merit outdoes CD. Who really wants to luxuriate on velour upholstery while the breeze from the tilt-and-slide sunroof teases through your hair when you could be baking in base-model brilliance courtesy of lava-hot vinyl seats and a one-speed fan?
FOTU: a classic car show for everyone
Every car at FOTU is a potential random memory trigger, stopping you in your tracks as you recall people you knew – or even a much younger you – having ‘had one of those’.
Cars are a common denominator in everyone’s lives that you don’t need to be ‘into’ them to enjoy whiling away several hours in the Lincolnshire sunshine – sentimentality is soul-nourishing.
Therein lies another of the Festival’s major draws because the cars on show are great levellers, ensuring the event attracts – nay, welcomes and encourages – all threads from society’s fabric, both at home and from overseas.
Even fully paid-up, anorak-wearing automotive geeks [author winks to camera] readily acknowledge that many classic car shows are terminally dull affairs attended only by those with PhDs in pipe-smoking or wistful beard-stroking, but FOTU is universally enjoyable.
You’re just as likely to hear a middle-aged guy cautiously ask ‘what’s the difference between a Granada and a Scorpio?’ without fear of being ridiculed for not knowing, as you are a woman in her early-20s questioning the owner of a Bedford Rascal about the differences between it and the contemporary Suzuki Super Carry.
On a related note, if you do identify yourself as a car nerd and you’re not already writing or presenting videos about your passion, we cannot implore you enough to try and do so.
It’s always evident at FOTU that so many people are teeming with knowledge who would be a joy to read and watch – and a refreshingly welcome change from the regurgitated Wikipedia entries proffered by some content creators.
FOTU: Satisfying that competitive spirit
Many people have a competitive streak that needs to be satisfied, albeit in an arena steeped in bonhomie. One such place is the Festival of the Unexceptional’s Concours de l’Ordinaire enclosure.
Here a shortlist of up to 50 of the most unexceptional vehicles are judged by a team of luminaries from the automotive industry, with great attention being paid to the stories behind the cars and vans entered, not just their condition and originality.
This year’s judging panel has yet to be announced, but performing the honours in 2025 were an esteemed ensemble comprising Gary Axon, Jon Bentley, Jesse Billington, Richard Bremner, Sarah Crabtree, Steve Cropley and Andrew Frankel.
Among the 50 vehicles vying for the judges’ attention in 2026 are a late, second-facelift Fiat 127, a Sierra-based Ford P100 pickup, a driving school favourite Mk2/K11 Nissan Micra and a rear-engined Skoda Estelle Two.
Gracing the podium positions at 2025’s Concours de l’Ordinaire were Andy Smith’s vibrant yellow 1979 Citroen Visa Club in third position, while Callum Bailey netted second place with his 1999 Ford Mondeo – a car he’d saved from a fate in banger racing.
Overall Festival of the Unexceptional Champion was Simon Packowski’s showroom-standard 1992 Skoda Favorit. True to FOTU’s ethos, Simon’s blue Favorit was in entry-level Forum specification with a level of standard equipment that included a space in the dashboard where a radio could be installed and bare steel wheels which you could fit plastic trims to following a visit to Halfords.
All that for the unprincely sum of £4706 when new – or approximately £11,000 when inflation-adjusted to 2026 prices.
Every FOTU Concours de l’Ordinaire Champion
- 2014: Nissan Cherry Europe GTi
- 2015: Ford Escort Mk2
- 2016: Morris 575 (Marina-derived) pickup
- 2017: Datsun Sunny
- 2018: Chrysler Alpine
- 2019: Morris Marina Estate
- 2021: Proton Saloon
- 2022: Vauxhall Astra Mk3
- 2023: Daihatsu Applause
- 2024: Toyota Hilux pickup
- 2025: Skoda Favorit Forum
What else is happening at FOTU 2026?
Platformed on the Hagerty live stage are a series of chats and discussions, headlined by the Brut-scented Jonny Smith and Land Rover Freelander blouse-wearing Richard Porter off of podcasting’s Smith and Sniff. Expect largely swearing-free anecdotes and a fresh edition of the Wheel Trim of Misfortune game for jollity and distraction from the sunburn/rain (delete as applicable on the day).
Augmenting the FOTU vibe will be The Telegraph’s display of some of the UK’s rarest cars, as determined by how few are presently taxed and road-legal.
Live music will also be playing as you’re wandering around the lines of lurid green Austin Metros, Parma Violet-hued Hyundai Accents and hearing aid beige-alike Volvo 240 Estates. Who knows, you may even spot a must-have set of wheels for sale, enabling you to join in the fun at 2027’s Festival of the Unexceptional.
Food, refreshments and a licenced bar are available at FOTU and although the venue is dog-friendly, one of the stipulations is that they must be kept on a lead. Despite the expanses of grass and the fact that period camper vans are always popular displays, overnight camping at the venue isn’t permitted.
