Cambridgeshire potato farmer Jonathan Papworth has won the top prize at this year’s Festival of the Unexceptional, after his immaculate 1980 Morris Marina 575 pickup beat stiff competition to win the judges' approval.
Second place went to David Wilson and his completely standard 1979 Volkswagen Golf L, while the People’s Choice award was scooped by James Cook’s 1968 Hillman Minx estate.
More than 400 classics turned out at Whittlebury Park for the third concours d’’ordinaire, including a 1988 Austin Metro Vanden Plas, a 1984 Talbot Samba cabriolet and a 1964 Austin J5 Paralanian camper van.
“We all had another superb day at the Unexceptional,” said Hagerty managing director Angus Forsyth. “There is such a friendly atmosphere here, and people love sharing the stories of their cars. Unlike some other shows, all the cars here have a cultural link to the visitors: they are the cars their families used to own. Every year, we hear ‘my dad had one of those’!”
His sentiments were echoed by show goer Adrian Fell, who said: “Despite the heat, this has to be the coolest car show in the country!”
