1989 Proton Saga wins Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional in the UK

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1989 Proton Saga wins Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional in the UK

Proton began exporting cars to the UK in 1988 and at its first display at the British Motor Show in Birmingham that year, the young Malaysian brand won three awards for its Proton Saga. 33 years later, that same model can still win awards in the UK as the winner of the 2021 Hagerty Concours de l’Ordinaire (Festival of the Unexceptional) held recently.

Only remaining one of 201 special units
A 1989 Proton Saga 1.5 was picked by 6 judges as the winner of the seventh edition of the event for car models from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. The Saga was one of 201 units of a special edition known as ‘Black Knight’ which was imported and distributed by Proton UK. It is the only one of that special series remaining. Between 1988 and 2001, Proton exported 124,980 cars to the UK which was its largest overseas market.

When the car was put away in a garage in 1993, it had only 3,600 miles (4,186 kms) on the odometer. It appeared in public again in 2017 and the current owner, Jon Coupland, added it to his Proton collection which now numbers three cars. The Saga has since clocked another 9,400 miles (15,134 kms).

1989 Proton Saga Black Knight at Hagerty event — *Malaysians will be very familiar with this dashboard but the version exported to the UK market had a different design around the instrument panel which was adapted from the Mitsubishi Lancer.*

*At the 1988 British Motor Show, Proton won its first three international awards for the Proton Saga which made its introduction in the market that year.*

Other notable winners this year
The runner-up prize went to Danny Wilson’s Peugeot 106 which was bought for just £500 via Facebook Marketplace. Special mentions went to James Green for his 1989 Nissan Bluebird, Charles Whilems and his 1986 Volkswagen Polo C Formel E, Chris Howells and his 1971 Triumph Toledo and Simon Hucknall for his 1977 Fiat 128. All of these cars impressed the individual judges and warranted their place in the 2021 Unexceptional Hall of Fame.

Speaking at the event, James Mills, Hagerty’s UK Editor, said: “What stood out for me this year was the number of fantastic cars fielded by younger entrants. It’s great to see the next generation of enthusiasts showing a real passion for everyday, ordinary, and unexceptional classics and demonstrates the growing love for this accessible scene. Our Festival started out as a small, cult event but today we saw thousands of visitors make the trip to admire the unsung heroes of the classic car world.”

Besides organising events ‘to keep driving alive for car-lovers and drive positive change in the world’, Hagerty is the world’s largest provider of specialist insurance for enthusiast vehicles and supports keeping car culture alive through youth programs, the Historic Vehicle Association (HVA), the RPM Foundation and more.