A supercar dealer who won a High Court battle over the world’s most expensive car and it’s missing gear box is turning Prue Leith’s former home into an eight-bedroomed mansion.
Former Le Mans driver Gregor Fisken became locked in legal battle with US lawyer Bernard Carl after buying a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO for £37million.
The pair ended up in dispute after the car’s original £800,000 gearbox was found in a warehouse and Mr Carl refused to hand it over to Mr Fisken’s company without a further payment, in breach of their contract.
After a lengthy legal battle, in 2020 the High Court ruled Mr Fisken was in the right and ordered the lawyer to handover the gearbox, allowing the car to be returned to its original condition.
The car mogul, who is currently selling an iconic world-championship Ferrari driven by F1 legend Fangio in 1957, has now revealed plans to transform his Cotswold’s home.
He bought the £10million 17th-century manor in Chastleton from Bake Off star Mrs Leith, 82, in 2020.
Plans submitted to West Oxfordshire District Council show Mr Fisken wants to merge two existing houses on the property into a mansion that he will share with his wife and children.
Former Le Mans driver-turned supercar dealer — Gregor Fisken who won a High Court battle over the world’s most expensive car — is turning Prue Leith’s former home in the Cotswolds (pictured in 2020) into an eight-bedroomed mansion
The combined plans show a ground floor that includes a gigantic drawing-room, as well as a dining room, a kitchen with a signature island and a glass-roofed orangery. Pictured: The house in 2020, before Mr Frisken bought it
Plans submitted to West Oxfordshire District Council show Mr Fisken wants to merge two existing houses on the property into a mansion that he will share with his wife and children. Pictured: The building plans
Supercar trader Gregor Fisken (left with his wife Carolina outside London’s High Court) won a High Court battle against the U.S lawyer Bernard Carl (right) over the world’s most expensive car and its missing £800,000 gearbox
The blue 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, which was purchased in October 2017, was known not to contain a gearbox when it was initially bought but Mr Fisken’s company insisted that the contract signed obliged Mr Carl to deliver up the gearbox to them once it had been located
In a detailed document, town planners JPPC said: ‘The proposals will enhance the quality of residential accommodation and the character and design of the host building and its environs in a way that is suitable for the setting of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
‘Whilst the building is not a designated or non-designated heritage asset, it has character as a reminder of the large-house tradition of the Cotswolds. The applicants, in their choice of design, have sought to enhance this.’
The combined plans show a ground floor that includes a gigantic drawing-room, as well as a dining room, a kitchen with a signature island and a glass-roofed orangery.
There is also a spacious two-car garage for Mr Fisken to store and work on his extensive collection of vintage cars.
Upstairs, there are plans for seven different bedrooms, with an additional room in the attic, each with its own ensuite bathroom that includes free-standing baths and showers for each room.
He bought the £10million 17th-century manor in Chastleton from former-Bake Off star Prue Leith (pictured inside the house), 82, in 2020
The property includes extensive farmland, while Land Registry records show there is also a lodge and two large cottages within the seven-acre grounds. Pictured: The property’s kitchen when it was owned by Prue Leith
The combined plans show a ground floor that includes a gigantic drawing-room, as well as a dining room, a kitchen with a signature island and a glass-roofed orangery. Pictured: The property’s former sitting room while owned by Prue Lieth
Pictured: The main house’s former bedroom while owned by Prue Leith
Mr and Mrs Fisken plan to have a master bedroom spanning the full width of the house with two different walk-in wardrobes and an ensuite bathroom including a bath that looks out over the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The builders also plan to build an elegant pool house that includes a gym and an open living space with a kitchen and cooking space. The top of the pool house will have a historic clock tower.
The pool house will overlook an extensive outdoor swimming pool.
The planners explained that both buildings will use reclaimed local stone, adding: ‘The proposed development incorporates design features which are appropriate for this locality, including the use of vernacular building materials.
‘The proposed development seeks to enhance biodiversity and to protect retained trees, supplementing existing planting where appropriate.
Mr and Mrs Fisken plan to have a master bedroom spanning the full width of the house with two different walk-in wardrobes and an ensuite bathroom including a bath that looks out over the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Pictured: The property’s library in 2020
‘The applicants acknowledge the AONB as a constraint of national importance and have been mindful of this in the development of these proposals. The limited scale of the proposed outbuildings means they will not give rise to impacts beyond their immediate context.’
There are also plans to build a modern greenhouse to provide some of the family’s food, the planners explained.
‘This elegant structure is intended to sit at the north-western end of the existing walled garden, giving the structure a southerly aspect which will maximise sunlight and would reduce the impact of northerly winds.
‘The structure is to be located with small orchards planted on either side as part of a reconfiguration of the walled garden’s internal layout.. No existing trees of value are to be lost; however, the instatement of orchards here would be consistent with the origins of this garden space.’
West Oxfordshire District Council has yet to approve the plans and it is not yet known if any local residents have objected.
