Hagerty Festival: A Stunning Daihatsu Applause Took First Place.
With a record turnout of 1200 automobiles and 3000 visitors enjoying the Lincolnshire weather on Saturday, the famed Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional was once again a sell-out triumph at Grimsthorpe Castle.
Hagerty created the inaugural Festival of the Unexceptional in 2014 to honor the "Unexceptional Period" of cars, which includes the ordinary commuter and family vehicles of the years 1968–1989. Highlights of the 2023 Concours included a 5,000-mile Cavalier and the sole Yugo Sana in the UK. This was one of the nicest display lawns seen in the Festival's nine-year history. Several automobile owners also used period-appropriate extras like actual dealer signs and model-specific literature to draw attention to their rides.
Hagerty - Festival Of The Unexceptional - First Place Applause
Although Repair Lot's Charlotte Vowden kept the spectators delighted on the main stage, Paul Cowland of Salvage Hunters: Historic Vehicles mingled with ordinary car enthusiasts all day. Live interviews with YouTube presenters like HubNut and idriveaclassic became popular, with the likes of these YouTubers sharing their stories with the audience and revealing the secrets to their Unexceptional success at the FOTU Concours.
The Concours lawn displayed fifty of the most unremarkable automobiles ever built, while the major spectator car parks had hundreds of other forgotten heroes and seldom seen gems, such as a Moskvitch Aleko, three Toyota Tercel 4x4, and many more.
The 1993 Subaru Justy, driven by Dutchman Hugo Naaijkens, placed third in the Concours. Hugo just passed his driver's test, but the dedicated Subaru WRC fan has already sworn to keep his Justy forever.
Hagerty - Festival Of The Unexceptional - Winners
Sion Hudson finished in second place with his 1983 Austin Metro. Sion spent two years searching for the factory-original replacement components necessary to restore the car to its pre-upgrade condition after learning that the previous owner had added modifications. To get the desired "showroom standard" appearance, we removed the radio, the passenger door mirror, and the indicator side repeaters.
Stephen Pike drove his 1991 Daihatsu Applause from Sweden to compete at FOTU and had only just completed an extensive renovation the day before he undertook the 900-mile journey to Lincolnshire.
“I love unusual cars, the Applause was unloved, and I was on a mission to save it.,” said Stephen. “Hopefully, it's going to be around for a few more years now”.
Hagerty - Festival Of The Unexceptional - Dog
On receiving his trophy for the Concours d’Ordinaire and the award for longest distance traveled, Stephen added: “I’m speechless. I’d read about FOTU online and seen pictures, but when I arrived and saw the other vehicles, I thought some were in much better condition!”
The tenth edition of FOTU will take place the following year, and preparations are already under way to make it the best one yet.
Mark Roper, Managing Director of Hagerty International, added, “This was, without doubt, the biggest and best Festival of the Unexceptional ever. After weeks of rain, the sun shone, the crowds gathered, and we had an incredible day. What impressed me the most was the amount of young owners bringing their cars along, suggesting Unexceptional-era cars are the next big thing in young driver car culture. We will be back next year to celebrate 10-years of Unexceptional cars with a truly exceptional event.”
