Being unexceptional has traditionally never been a good thing, just ask my year 9 P.E. teacher about my performance and he’d roll his eyes and mutter that exact word. But luckily times have changed and although I’m no more athletic, being unexceptional has fallen into vogue. The Festival of the Unexceptional celebrated its 10th running this year, so I went along for a dose of nostalgia and to appreciate the preservation of cars that have been forgotten.

For those of you who aren’t deep in car nerdery (what are you doing here?), FOTU is billed as “A celebration of long-forgotten everyday family cars from 1969-1999, now fondly known as the Unexceptional Era”. If you are the sort of person who is left cold by the sight of a Ferrari, but will fall over yourself to see an immaculate G-reg Vauxhall Cavalier then this is the show for you.

Held in the grounds of Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire, the event invites people to bring along their “Unexceptional” cars. The highlight of the show is the Concours de l’Ordinaire where prizes are given to the best examples, with entries this year including a Lada Riva, Renault Clio and a Triumph Acclaim. A stage hosts guests throughout the day including the Smith and Sniff podcast, Sustain fuels and live music. 

The fun of this event is just walking around and riding the waves of reminiscence; never will you have seen so many cars that you and society in general have just cast aside. There is something joyous about the enthusiasm and passion owners have for cars which traditionally would have been destined for the scrapheap.

I couldn’t cover every car in the event in this article as there were far too many good ones to choose from. Instead, I’ll give you a rundown of some of my favourites whilst trying to give you just a small taste of the nostalgia.

I’ll start with a plethora of what I’m calling the “oh I/my friend had one of those as a first car” category. Miraculously, not all Corsas were left littering hedgerows and adorning trees after some exuberant late teens driving. This Vauxhall Corsa looked stunning in its Aquamarine over plastic bumper colour scheme, as did the more affluent red LS model with its classic 3 spokes.

Aquamarine too Jazzy? How about this slightly more reserved CVT-equipped Fiat Punto Selecta. Not a Craig David special edition but rather one of the wacky naming schemes that often cropped up in the 90s. The owner inherited it from his grandmother, and now uses it as his daily.

This 1998 Renault Clio Grande looked factory fresh, scooping 2nd prize in the Concours. Even the plastic fantastic interior had aged well.

For those slightly older than myself, the Nova no doubt holds a special place in your heart and the chances are that it was the car you learnt to drive in.

Moving onto a completely forgotten genre of car: the coupé. Long before the pseudo SUV-coupés we have today, a coupé was an aspirational target for any youth of the 90s. Once you’d served your time in a basic hatchback you wanted something “sporty” and manufacturers of the time were more than happy to oblige. The Renault Mégane Coupé was a 90s staple that made a prince from what was a frog of a hatchback. 

Sticking with the yellow and French theme, the Peugeot 406 Coupe has aged exceptionally well. Pininfarina design really transformed the dour looks of the regular 406.

Who remembers the Ford Probe? The futuristic styling, pop-up lights and wraparound rear light cluster really made this car stand out back in 1994.

The saloon car was another hallmark of this period, once you’d become a family man and made it a few rungs up the corporate ladder you probably dreamt of being at the helm of a Rover 216 Vitesse. 

For those who were constrained by a tight fisted fleet manager, the Triumph Acclaim was no doubt the car you were offered but didn’t want. 

Or maybe in later years you favoured a left field choice like the Proton GL “Knight Edition”.

Your inner German cab driver would always have lusted for a Mercedes-Benz 190, especially in beige over beige.

For those dictators on a budget (Aldi Amin if you will), the Rover 800 limousine offered the leg room and prestige of a Mercedes-Benz SEL without the price tag.

How about the Vauxhall Omega, one of my favourites, but a 3.2 V6 Elite? Oooof that’s a special car. How many times were you convinced you were about to be nicked if one of these showed up in the mirrors?

If you weren’t an Omega man, you could always have gone down the Irmscher-kitted Vectra route. I know that the Volvo 850R always gets the limelight but I’m here to state the case for this Vectra Tourer.

Another forgotten niche is that of the small convertible; if a manufacturer made a hatchback, chances are they cut the roof off it at some point. Peugeot’s 306 convertible always looked great, and in Roland Garros trim it had an interior to match.

Who here remembers the Talbot Samba Cabriolet? I certainly don’t but what a joyous little car. Small but perfectly formed has never been more apt.

Suzuki really went for it with their wideboy Vitaras of the late 90s allowing you to live out your “I’m just Ken” fantasies with a Barbie-esq Jeep.

One running theme throughout all the cars was colour, manufacturers of yesteryear were not afraid to offer wacky paint schemes and various shades of madness in their interiors. MG/Rover’s “Monogram” paint range had some real highlights like the Chromactive Spectre finish.

Or the slightly racy named “Dark Fantasy”, with an interior to match.

For those of you who can’t decide on a colour or would like your vehicle to resemble an LSD-fuelled fever dream, how about the VW Polo Harlekin?  This car is a Green Base and subsequently my favourite variation.

Has there ever been a more accurate embodiment of unexceptional than the Fiat Multipla? The heat or the good vibes of the show must have gotten to me as even this looked good!

A W140 Mercedes-Benz S-Class is too high brow for this event, but not in entry-level short wheelbase 280 form with wheel trims. Just imagine the uproar if Mercedes-Benz today offered an S-Class on steelies, the G7 would hold crisis talks.

Is the Skoda Felicia Fun the biggest departure a manufacturer has ever made from their core brand? Nothing says Skoda like a bright yellow, transformable pickup truck with half yellow leather seats and a recurring frog motif. This would be like Bugatti building a snowmobile or Ferrari an electric car, oh wait…

Citroens of the 80s managed to blend chic styling with Hydropneumatic suspension to create cars that were part lead sled, part moon buggy. 

Outside event runner Hagerty’s tent and courtesy of the British Motor Museum was the last Austin Montego ever to roll off the production line. Nothing particularly special I hear you say, but this one was signed by everyone at the factory.

A strong showing of eastern bloc metal could be found dotted around the event including Lada’s Riva and Niva, along with the lesser known Zastava Yugo 45.

It's hard for me to put down my car of the day, there were just too many cars that I’d love to have tucked up in the garage for high dry days. The Roland Garros 306 was stunning, the Skoda Felica Fun would never fail to bring a smile to my face, but all of those pale in comparison to the Subaru Justy. Did I just write that? It may be a badge engineered Suzuki, but its purple paintwork, AWD graphics and confetti fabric interior are just so gloriously 90s. This was also Deputy Editor Ken Pearson's star of the show.

I’d rate Festival of the Unexceptional as a must attend event. Not because of the setting, not because of the excellent food and drink options, but because of its spirit. Never will you experience an automotive palate cleanse that leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling as you do at this show. It shows that this hobby really can cater to everyone and that there is always a car that’ll be special to someone. Long may its spirit continue, along with the people who care about the mundane.