Magazine
15 Icons that Defined Supercar Driver — Group 2
Join us for the second of three groups of special cars that have defined 15 years of Supercar Driver.
January 20, 2025
Paul loses himself in the world of Fiskens Fine Historic Automobiles, an Aladdin’s cave of the world’s most significant and valuable cars.
Tucked away in the quaint cobbled streets of Queens Gate Place Mews, just a short stroll from London’s bustling Natural History Museum, lies one of London’s best-kept secrets: Fiskens Fine Historic Automobiles. From the outside, it looks like any other unassuming building in South Kensington — a perfectly respectable mews house where you’d expect someone with a Labrador and a love for artisan coffee to reside. But step inside, and you’ll discover a treasure trove of some of the world’s most iconic and drool-worthy historic cars. Forget the Natural History Museum; this is the real home of ancient beasts, only these ones growl a little louder and don’t require fossil excavation to get moving.
Fiskens was founded in 1991 by Gregor Fisken, a man whose love for historic cars borders on obsessive in the best way possible. With a racing pedigree that includes the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, Gregor has a deep understanding of what makes a car truly special: horsepower, history, and just the right amount of oil leaks to keep you on your toes.
While I’ve never met Gregor personally, the general consensus among those who have is that he’s the kind of guy you’d want to have dinner with, if only to hear his endless anecdotes about racing and rare cars. Fiskens has become a global hub for collectors, racers, and people who appreciate the finer things in life — namely cars that cost as much as a small country’s GDP.
Walking into Fiskens’ showroom is like entering a petrolhead’s version of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, except here, the golden tickets come in the form of Aston Martins, Ferraris, and Bugattis. It’s a multi-level haven of horsepower, with meticulously polished floors, dramatic lighting, and the kind of cars that make grown men cry. Seriously, if cars could blush, Fiskens’ collection would be a permanent shade of Ferrari red from all the ogling.
The showroom itself is a masterpiece. There’s art on the walls (of the automotive variety, naturally), a wet bar straight out of the 1960s, and a car lift that rises out of the floor like something from a Bond villain’s lair. It’s the kind of place where you half-expect to find Bruce Wayne browsing for his next Batmobile.
At Fiskens, every car has a story, and not the kind of story you tell your mates down the pub. These are tales of glory, danger, and decades-long mystery. From pre-war Bentleys to mid-century Le Mans legends, their inventory is a who’s who of automotive royalty.
Take, for example, the Ferrari 250 GTO they once had in their collection. For those unfamiliar, the 250 GTO isn’t just a car; it’s a unicorn wrapped in Italian leather. It’s the sort of machine that makes people gasp, weep, and, if they’re lucky enough to buy one, refinance their houses and sell a kidney.
And then there’s the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato which Gregor has sold to its last three owners. With only 19 ever made, owning one is like being part of an exclusive club where the initiation ritual involves a bank balance with more zeros than your average calculator can handle.
Buying a car from Fiskens isn’t like popping down to your local dealership to haggle over a used hatchback. It’s a bespoke experience rooted in knowledge, trust, and a level of discretion that MI6 would be proud of. Fiskens has a knack for connecting buyers and sellers with an air of mystery that makes the whole process feel like a high-stakes heist — minus the balaclavas and police chases.
Need to know the exact race history of a 1962 Porsche 356? They’ve got you. Want to sell your historic car without it becoming front-page news? No problem. Fiskens’ discretion is as legendary as their inventory. Their expertise is unmatched, and they’ve built a reputation as the go- to dealership for anyone who takes their classic cars as seriously as some people take their sourdough starters.
Buying a historic car is an emotional rollercoaster, and Fiskens gets that. There’s the initial euphoria of spotting your dream car, the brief moment of panic when you realise how much it costs, and the lifelong thrill of owning a piece of automotive history. Of course, there’s also the ‘learning curve’ when you discover that maintaining a 1950s Jaguar isn’t quite the same as booking a quick MOT for your Ford Fiesta. Spoiler: it involves a lot more cash, patience, and the occasional existential crisis.
Earlier this year, I had the unique opportunity to pose a few questions to Gregor to find out a little bit more about the man behind his iconic company.
If Fiskens could only showcase one car in its entire collection to represent the brand, which car would it be and why?
Our DBR9. The DBR9 was developed with the same principles as the glory days of racing and embodies the same soul as its predecessors. The same things that make the DB3S a classic have made the DBR9 a modern classic. It was Aston Martin’s first works race car in 45 years and the DBR9 program was the epitome of modern race development with both successful privateers and works teams running them. I myself raced a DBR9, chassis 1 in fact, at Le Mans and won with it in Interlagos. Since their retirement, the DBR9s have become a staple in every prominent collection thanks to the same principles that made the DB3Ss such sought-after collectors’ cars.
If you could take any car from your collection and drive it in any historic race, which would it be?
The Valkyrie at Le Mans. I think what Aston is doing with the Valkyrie programme is absolutely fantastic.
What’s the one car in your showroom that even you can’t resist taking for a cheeky spin when no one’s watching?
Our A6GCS! I had the pleasure of co- driving one on the Mille Miglia many moons ago and found myself, by pure happenstance, behind Stirling Moss. The lightness of the steering and the way that it handles the bends on the road, you immediately understand what made them so popular in the day.
How do you balance preserving a car’s original character with making it reliable for modern use?
One of the best examples of originality-preservation is E2A. A one-off prototype between the D-Type and the E-Type, E2A was designed for Le Mans 1960. Built by the works but entered and run by Briggs Cunningham, E2A was the third fastest car on the grid before running into issues as night fell. After the race, E2A went out to the US and raced with names like Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren taking turns behind the wheel. Returned to Jaguar and earmarked for scrap, E2A was saved by Guy Griffith’s daughter Penny and joined his inimitable Jaguar collection. After nearly 40 years and still unrestored, she joined her current owner who commissioned CKL to courageously and conscientiously prepare her for modern racing with minimal disruption to her originality. A new race-spec engine was commissioned and the factory 3.8L set aside and preserved, seat belts were added and the kill switch was subtly clamped beneath the steering wheel. She returned to Le Mans in 2010, 50 years after her first performance.
Have you ever had a car come through your doors with a story so wild you didn’t believe it at first?
There are quite a few, but the 8C Figoni Spider’s romantic story will always stay with me. However, it would be remiss of me not to mention the Auto Union I sold in the '90s.
From the ashes of four Saxon auto manufacturers, the conglomerate Auto Union was formed. Symbolised by the four rings, they — alongside Mercedes — answered the Kaiser’s call for a Grand Prix car built to the 1934 regulations. The six years between 1934 and 1939 were dominated by the two marques, with closely contested races, rapid and dramatic technological advancements, culminating in the final year, where two- stage supercharged three-litre cars were reaching speeds just short of 200mph.
For a long time, it was believed that every example of the Ferdinand Porsche- designed, groundbreaking 1939 Grand Prix Auto Unions was gone forever, lost to inquisitive USSR engineers. But one day, from behind the Iron Curtain, chassis 21 appeared. The winner of the French Grand Prix with HP Müller and of the last-ever pre-war Grand Prix in Belgrade with the infamous Tazio Nuvolari, chassis 21 was packed up alongside the twenty- nine other Grand Prix Auto Unions and anything of value in the factory and transported back to the USSR, distributed amongst technical institutes and car factories as design studies.
For many years, only one example was known to exist, until a couple — Paul, of Russian descent, and his wife Barbara, of Saxony descent — took it upon themselves to become history-making detectives and investigate every rumour of survivors. One car was rescued as the USSR train carrying the 30 cars had rolled through Czechoslovakia, and another in Leningrad had been sawn in half for parts for a trailer. Chassis 21 had been in Kharkiv, one of perhaps three gifted to the Technical Institute.
The crack team at Crosthwaite & Gardner brought chassis 21 back to life, and it was first driven at the Nürburgring in October 1994. I was entrusted with the sale of the car in 2005.
If you could sit down with any legendary racing driver, past or present, who would it be?
Archie Scott Brown, if anyone hasn’t read the book about Archie and the Listers and how he drove, I think he’d be a really inspirational person to speak to (and it would be a raucous evening), and of course, Jim Clark.
What advice would you give to someone considering buying their first historic car, but who’s terrified of the potential pitfalls?
The first return on your investment always has to be pleasure. At the end of the day, they’re machinery, and the value we place on them is a result of what their stories mean to us — who drove them, who loved them, and the previous owners who also deemed them valuable.
A D-Type is a piece of metal, albeit a beautiful one, but if that metal hurtled down the Mulsanne Straight at the hands of Ninian Sanderson, then we deem it as having phenomenal value. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of good investment opportunities, but the market shifts and trends change. If you lead with a passion for what you’re buying, then you will always have the winning hand.
Fiskens isn’t just a place to buy cars — it’s a community for those who live and breathe automotive history. Their team is a wealth of knowledge, ready to guide you through the maze of market values, restorations, and racing histories. And while their inventory is undoubtedly jaw-dropping, it’s the passion behind the business that truly sets them apart.
Whether you’re a seasoned collector or someone who just wants to spend an afternoon drooling over cars that belong in museums, Fiskens is a must-visit. Just be warned, once you step inside, you may never want to leave, and you’ll probably find yourself plotting ways to afford that Bugatti you can’t stop thinking about.
Fiskens is proof that history isn’t just something to read about — it’s something to experience, preferably from behind the wheel of a perfectly tuned V12 engine. So, the next time you’re in London, forget the usual tourist traps and head straight to Queens Gate Place Mews. You might not walk out with a car, but you’ll definitely leave with a new story to tell.
Written by: Paul Pearce
