Festival of the Unexceptional

If you would like to enter the Concours please CLICK HERE

This year’s event will welcome TV ‘Wheeler Dealer’ Mike Brewer as a special guest, who will be around all day to meet fans and appreciate the unexceptional motors with the rest of us. Several familiar faces will return for this year’s Concours judging panel too, with motoring journalist Steve Cropley joining the judges for the first time.

Where is It

The Festival will return to Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire this year, with the Concours de l’Ordinaire once again taking place in front of the house itself and other unexceptional vehicles lined up in their hundreds on the Castle’s lawns.

What cars are eligible for the Festival of the Unexceptional Concours?

If you’ve been to the Festival before, then you’ll have a pretty good idea of what we like to see, but as a general rule we’re looking for ‘unexceptional’ cars registered between 1967 and 1997.

Judges will place an emphasis on originality and ordinary, less ‘exotic’ versions of cars. We prefer Ls to SRis, Populars to Cosworths, and Renaults to Rolls-Royces. Judges also like to learn about the story behind the car, as this can make the difference when having to choose between a number of the same make and model. Really sell your car to us when you submit it for entry to the Concours!

To help us narrow down the dozens of entries, good photographs are also very useful in your submission – two or three clear exterior shots (front and rear three-quarter shots are always useful), plus a good, clear shot of the interior. Make sure you show off those base-spec cloth seats…