Axon's Automotive Anorak – Extraordinarily Ordinary

That’s right. It was the Renault! Strange you might think as more than 1.8million examples of the five-door 16 were built, and to most the car is considerably less glamorous or aspirational than the other classics sharing parking space. 

However, whilst the other cars mentioned were rare, more expensive and exotic than the Renault when new, a far larger proportion of these limited-production sporting machines have been preserved, and are now a common sight at almost any classic car show. By comparison, the once commonplace Renault workhorse has now become an exceptionally rare breed, with just 65 or so remaining registered on British roads today. No wonder it was attracting so much attention.   

Once popular, but now rarely seen surviving ‘ordinary’ family cars, such as the Renault 16, seem to bring out a nostalgic streak in all of us. While briefly inspecting the Renault, fellow show-goers could be overheard making remarks such as “My Dad had one of those,” “they were incredibly comfortable,” and “I remember my head master scraping his on the school gates.”  

Whilst older Ferraris, Jaguars, Porsches and other prestige marques are universally celebrated and cherished, the old humble family saloon is largely forgotten and ignored. Sure, there are owners and enthusiast clubs for the ‘grey porridge’ cars we all grew up with, the Ford Cortinas, Austin Maxis, Vauxhall Vivas and the like, but they tend to be small and often frowned upon compared to the clubs catering for the more exotic machines.

Owning and running an older maligned mass-produced car can be a challenge these days as well. If you are restoring or regularly use a classic Jaguar E-type, MG B, Triumph Stag, Porsche 356 or Ferrari Daytona, for example, there is a strong and mature network of dedicated parts and restoration specialists to assist and support you.

However, try and keep your aged Hillman Hunter, Fiat 127 or Morris Oxford on the road today and you may well struggle, having to resort to auto jumbles, online auction sites or dedicated clubs for those vital hard-to-find parts, with many spares now being frustratingly unobtainable.

Some time ago, a friend spent a considerable sum and energy restoring his father’s old and decrepit Austin 1800 ‘Landcrab’ to its former glory. Many years, bruised knuckles and thousands of pounds later, his 1967 Austin looked resplendently original once more, but was still only worth a fraction of what he had spent on it. Had he invested the same amount restoring a ‘desirable’ classic car, such as an E-type or Lotus Elan, he would probably be able to afford a second home on the Costa Brava by now!

That’s not the point though, and I for one applaud the enthusiasts out there like him that hold a candle for the unloved and ignored vehicles that we all knew – and possibly still have found memories of – years ago. At a classic car event these days, I (and a handful of others) will often glide past the inevitable rows of ‘predictable’ cherished 911s, Ferraris and Jaguars to admire an original Singer Chamois, Citroen GS or Mazda 818, as it is so rare to see these sort of ‘mainstream’ cars these days.  

Thankfully, the appreciation of older ordinary family cars is finally on the increase, especially with a younger generation of car enthusiasts that can no longer afford a Triumph TR6 or Lancia Delta Integrale, but are able to stretch to a clean MG Montego or Fiat Uno, for example. 

In an inspired move, a couple of years ago classic car insurance specialists, Hagerty, introduced a ‘Concours d’Ordinaire’ as a free, fun and informal celebration of these unremarkable yet remarkable automobiles. This year’s free-to-attend Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional celebration of the much-maligned regular cars of the 1960s to 1980s will be held at Whittlebury Park Golf Club, Towcester, Northants, near Silverstone, on Saturday 23 July.

This recognition of the unexceptional will see around 50 ordinary cars from our youth displayed, with ‘when did you last see one of those’ highlights set to include a Talbot Samba, Opel Ascona, Vauxhall Ventora and uber-scarce DAF 66 Marathon coupe.  As the antithesis to concours events such as the Festival of Speed Cartier ‘Style et Luxe,’ Pebble Beach and Villa d’Este, I for one can’t wait, and I will be there for my nostalgia fix, tucking into my 1970s-style picnic, with my anorak fully zipped-up all the way to the top!

Renault photo by nakhon100 via Creative Commons

Morris photo by Redsimon via Creative Commons

Austin photo by Jonathan Stonehouse via Creative Commons