Motorists compete for "most unexceptional car" trophy

The Concours d’Ordinaire – it sounds rather more glamorous than the Festival of the Unexceptional doesn’t it? But the event, now in its fourth year at Stowe House, brought together over 50 cars and over 2000 visitors. So what would make your car eligible for such a concours event?

Angus Forsythe, MD of sponsors Hagerty International, explained the criteria:

“Our Festival of the Unexceptional celebrates the cars that were the workhorses of their day: the base model saloons, hatchbacks and estates that were sold in their millions between roughly 1968 and 1989, and are now so rare.”

Even in the car park there were some marvellously uninspiring cars, like a Talbot Avenger, a Lada Riva and an Austin Ambassador. But for the full beige experience you needed to look at the specially prepared cars vying for the trophy.

For those of a certain age, this was a trip down memory lane, and a thoroughly enjoyable wander through a field of cars that the world has largely forgotten. But today was their day, the day when you stood a chance of winning a trophy with your 1980 Austin Maxi or 1972 Renault 12 TL. But not even the 1982 Austin Metro in Champagne Beige could quite pip the winner.

The top prize went to Mark Ashbridge and his stunning 1983 Datsun Sunny 1.5GL. The champion was one of the last Sunnys badged as a Datsun. Owner Mark Ashbridge was understandably ecstatic at taking the prize. When asked to describe the car in detail he could hardly contain himself when he said that it was a “pleasant conveyance”.