Datsun Takes Top Honours At The Sunny 2017 Hagerty Festival Of The Unexceptional

July 24, 2017 by Hagerty International

•A pleasant 1983 Datsun Sunny 1.5 GL takes top 'Best in Show prize at the 2017 Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional, with a 1972 DAF 33 and 1973 Austin Allegro SS also winning prizes

•A record number of more than 2,000 enthusiastic visitors attend the fourth edition of the annual Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional, with Europe's greatest gathering of the uncelebrated, humdrum vehicles we grew up with, accompanied by period picnics and fashions to match the cars, vans and a scooter

•This light-hearted Concours d'Ordinaire was held for the first time within the magnificent grounds of Stowe House, Buckingham

Last Saturday, 22 July, a record audience of more than 2,000 descended on the imposing surrounds of Stowe House in Buckinghamshire to take the ultimate motoring nostalgia trip at the fourth edition of the Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional concours d'Ordinaire. Against the magnificent Stowe House backdrop, the event was inevitably going to be a step up from that of previous years, and so it proved wholeheartedly on Saturday.

The concours cars filled the front of the Stowe House lawn, with 50+ specially selected Unexceptional models vying for title of Best in Show. These was a wonderfully original 1982 Austin Metro in glorious Champagne Beige, next to an original 1980 Austin Maxi 1750 in vivid orange and a blue 1975 Renault 12 TL. Flying the 'modern classics' flag was the youngest car on the Unexceptional lawn, a 1990 Fiat Tempra SX in superb condition; with blue velour back seat looking almost untouched.

With the bland leading the blind, the hard-fought judging of the 50 vehicles displayed on the immaculate Festival of the Unexceptional lawn saw the five-strong judging panel of mundane motoring masterminds admiring a selection of taupe, primrose yellow and lilac coloured family saloons and estates, many equipped with rubber flooring, squidgy vinyl seats, no radio, manual wind-up windows and 'genuine' faux Formica wood inserts.

After a long session of deliberation, the judges emerged and the winners were announced, the presentation hastening towards the end as an ominous rain cloud approached.

The 2017 Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional winners were:

– Best in Show: 1983 Datsun Sunny 1.5 GL (Mark Ashbridge)

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– Second Place: 1972 DAF 33 (Richard Holness)

– People's Choice: 1972 Austin Allegro 1750 SS (Colin Corke)

– Best Dressed: Simon Martin (Volvo 740 GL)

– Feast of the Unexceptional/Best Picnic: John Usher (Austin Maestro Special)

As one of the last of the Datsun-badged Sunnys, before the Japanese marque was re-branded as Nissan, the Sunny's owner, Mark Ashbridge, described his 1983 Sunny as 'a pleasant conveyance', perfectly summing-up what Hagerty's Festival of the Unexceptional is all about. The judges pondered that this was possibly the very first time in history that a Datsun/Nissan Sunny has won anything!

The second-placed 1972 DAF 33, entered by Richard Holness, had originally been owned by an elderly gentleman who kept it for 40 years, with the People's Choice award winner – a 1973 Austin Allegro 1750 SS – being the oldest surviving production Allegro in existence, appropriately owned by a vicar from Longbridge, Colin Corke.

Honorary mentions from the five Concours d'Ordinaire judges were also given to a 1971 Fiat 128 Estate, a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle, owned by the same participant since new, a 1977 Lancia Beta 1600 Berlina, and a 1973 Simca 100 GLS Estate, believed to be the last road-worthy example in the UK.

The Best Dressed prize for entrants wearing clothes appropriate to the era of their car when to Simon Martin and his partner with their 1989 Volvo 740 GL, with the winner of the Hagerty Feast of the Unexceptional period picnic being John User, with his Rubik's Cube Battenberg cake pink sponge fingers being the perfect accompaniment to his 1989 Austin Maestro Special.

A small selection of cars was plucked out of the Unexceptional car park, including a late 'souvenir' edition of a Saab 96 L V4, plus a battered Alfa 75, hand-painted in pastel green, this Alfa Romeo being Jeremy Clarkson's entry into the 2008 Auto Italia concours, part of a Top Gear TV challenge.

The fascinating Festival of the Unexceptional visitor's car park was no less of a show. Over two hundred gloriously ordinary and long-forgotten vehicles filled the rows, each telling a story of its own. These included examples of a rarely-seen Fiat 132 2-Litre, an immaculate Bedford CF van, a Talbot Avenger, Vauxhall Royale, Austin Ambassador, Honda Quintet, Lada Riva, plus a trio of Hyundai Stella saloons, making one section of the Festival parking area look like a 1980s-mini cab rank!

Angus Forsyth, Managing Director of classic vehicle insurance specialists Hagerty International said '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. I just love overhearing enthusiasts at this unique concours d'ordinaire event commenting that they haven't seen one of those in years, the cars that we all remember from our childhoods.' Angus continued 'Despite the gathering rain clouds, our prestigious new setting of Stowe House enhanced the enjoyable, laid-back atmosphere of the event, with this year's Unexceptional having a particularly Sunny disposition.'

The date for the 2018 edition of the Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional will be announced early next year. For updates on the fifth edition of this unique event, keep an eye on the Hagerty website for details, and subscribe to the dedicated newsletter.