The Festival of the Unexceptional

Amust attend event on the classic car calendar, it has built up an air of respectibility and press coverage thanks to the carefully selected venue and choice of cars. The show is broken up into two sections, the main Concours d’Elegance which consists of a committee chosen selection of cars, which have a story to tell. There’s no hard and fast rule for qualification, but family owned cars, exceptionally rare cars, lengthy restorations and remarkable connections often help.

Hosted at Stowe House in Buckingham, the venue is settling in as the natural home for the show. The open grounds, stately home backdrop and serene location acts as perfect location for this calm and impressive venue.

The section just behind the the main cars, are parked the rest of classic and unexceptional cars, with a variety and mix of car that simply are not seen at any event in the world. The event is relatively short, usually finishing shortly after the judging but it has now become of the best car events in the UK.

Dressing is optional but really adds to the occasion.

In addition to the opportunity to win the best period clothing prize, prizes are also given out to the best picnic!

The show is open to all kinds of vehicles, small commercial vehicles were welcome.

There is a flexible cut-off date, with the mid 90’s being the acceptable limit.

Sometimes the unexceptional becomes the exceptional. The Datsun 1200 was the brands first volume seller in the UK.

Unfortunately the show came to an ubrupt end shortly after the prizegiving, thanks to the weather.

The event is open to the public, but tickets are limited.

Plenty of photo opportunities…

…and shots that would be difficult to reproduce at any other show.

The Ford Sierra typically encompasses the shows ethic, a celebration of motoring furniture of the past.