Highlights from the Festival of the Unexceptional 2025

The Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional returned to Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire last weekend to celebrate ordinary and rare family cars from the 1970s to the 1990s. 

Thousands of people and cars descend on the venue, which has hosted FotU since 2021, and aims to highlight cars that would normally be overlooked for a car show. 

An immaculate 1992 Skoda Favorit Forum was named the overall winner of the festival in what is known as the Concours de L’Ordinare.

The Favorit had been destined for the scrapyard, due to a broken head gasket, but 22-year-old owner Simon Packowski rescued the '90s hatchback and restored it back to original condition.

He even travelled more than 1000 miles just for a set of original headrests. 

Second place was awarded to a 1999 Ford Mondeo, owned by Callum Bailey.

The base-spec model was originally set to be used as a banger racing car when Bailey spotted it on the back of a truck.

He bought it on the spot and spent £6000 restoring it, treating it to a full-body respray a few years ago. 

A very bright 1979 Citroën Visa Club owned by Andy Smith took the final podium spot. 

There were plenty more highlights to be found in the show parking area, too, much like this ultra-rare Alfa Romeo 33 Sport Wagon. 

This is believed to be the only Veloce model left in the UK. 

A show of hands please for this pristine 1986 Citroën GSA Special. This is a limited-edition version of the GSA has a number of high-spec features, such as a five-speed manual gearbox, bright-coloured steelies, a rear spoiler and side stripes.  

It wasn't the bright green paint of this tidy Honda CR-X del Sol that caught our eye - it was its weird and highly-technical 'TransTop' roof.

While a normal convertible folds backwards, the TransTop mechanism retracts the targa top of the CR-X into the boot at the push of a button. 

We're pretty confident that the Festival of the Unexceptional is the only place you will ever see a Matra Murena. 

Sold between 1980 and 1983, this rear-wheel-drive, mid-engined sports car from France had a claimed top speed of 113mph and could hit 60mph in under 12sec. Oh, and three-abrest seating. 

Longtime Autocar readers may recognise this Mercedes-Benz A-Class. Believed to be oldest example in the country, it was bought from the press fleet by former road test editor Andrew Frankel back in the late '90s.

Several cars from the British Motor Museum were on display, inlcuding this Mini 9X prototype. 

Designed as a replacement for the Mini, the 9X featured a more boxy aesthetic and a new 950cc engine that was said to be 40% lighter than the one used by the then current Mini. 

Peugeot 405s are seldom seen on UK roads today, and a 405 with a Peugeot-made tandem bicycle attached to its roof is an ever rarer sighting. 

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you: that really is a Peugeot pick-up truck.

Based on elements of the 206 and 207, the Hoggar is described as a coupé ultility vehicle.

It was sold in South American markets between 2010 and 2014. 

Based on the Fiat Panda, this Seat Marbella Fun is said to be one of just three examples left on the road in the UK.

Lifestyle pick-ups don't get more flamboyant that this Skoda Felicia Fun. This particular example has almost covered 200,000 miles from new. 

You don't see many Polo G40s around these days, and while this diminuitve hot hatch is more exceptional than unexceptinal, we couldn't possibly leave it out. 

Known for its supercharged 1.3-litre engine, this Mk2 Polo was pretty quick in its day and could easily keep pace with Ford Fiesta XR2is and Peugeot 205 GTis.