A sleepless night was worth it for early bird Ben Kitchen, who was the first to arrive at FOTU 2026 in his 1989 Aldi coupé
“I didn’t get much sleep last night. When you know you’ve got to get up early you constantly look at the clock and count down the hours. I left at 4.15 in the morning to get here, it was a bit gruelling, but the excitement kept me going. To be the first one in the queue was quite surreal because it felt like there was no limit to the amount of people who might turn up early.
I drove up the hill quite slowly, it’s become iconic with the big FOTU letters and everyone taking pictures at the top. It felt epic to be the first car in the FOTU convoy and I have to say I think the coupé looked pretty cool.
I found the 80 on Facebook Marketplace in 2024 and it was in pretty good nick for the price. I wanted a project car, but I wanted a project car that ran rather than sat on my driveway so although it needs a little TLC it’s exactly what I wanted. The oil pressure gauge is constantly stuck at 12 millibars and my inside light doesn’t work because someone has glued the switch shut, for example.
You don’t see many 80s in the UK anymore, but in mainland Europe I think they’re still quite common. The person I bought it from was very knowledgeable about this specific model and he gave me some tips. I saw it, bought it and then fell in love with it on the drive home… which was quite nerve-wracking. The Audi hadn’t been driven much, or for more than 30 minutes at a time, and the journey took six hours. Not knowing the car, it was a bit of a risk, but I got more confident the more I drove, and we made it!
The Audi has been quite reliable and sits somewhere between an everyday car and a show car. It’s currently at 93,000 miles, but I see it as a bit of a conundrum because I don’t know if I really want to put the miles on it and hit 100. It’s something I’m going to have to come to terms with I suppose because cars like the Audi were built to be driven. Getting to FOTU is the longest drive I’ve done since bringing it home.
My dad and I have always had a love for wacky cars and cars you don’t see very often. We’ll definitely be having a look at the FOTU cars for sale. I’m a 22-year-old and I think the cars of yesteryear are so much better than cars of today because of their styling and DIY ability.
FOTU is a very friendly show, it’s a really fun place to be and it’s a great day out. Whatever car you’ve got, you can find something in common to talk about with other people.”
Were you at FOTU 2026, or do you have a memorable road trip or classic car story of your own? Share your thoughts in the comments – we’d love to hear about the journeys and cars that mean the most to you.
