For the 2025 edition of FIVA’s Heritage Hall of Fame, nine distinguished individuals from nine different countries have been selected by an international jury. Representing four continents – from Albania to the United States, and from Chile to India – they reflect a remarkable spectrum of automotive luminaries. This year’s honourees include passionate enthusiasts, collectors, designers, and motorsport specialists, reflecting the global nature of the historic vehicle movement.
The nine-member jury – comprising of McKeel Hagerty, Malcolm Forest, Nick Mason, NavazBhathena Sandhu, Eli Solomon, Shiro Nakamura, Gaby von Oppenheim, Patrick Rollet, and FIVA President Tiddo Bresters – selected a diverse and exceptional group of inductees:
Living Inductees:
From Albania: Medi Halilaj
A key figure in Albania’s historic vehicle community, Halilaj was inspired by his father’s work with military vehicles. After pursuing electromechanics and working as an electric car technician and battery specialist, he partnered with the “RON” Museum, co-founded by Arben Prrenjasi, to locate and restore rare and important historic vehicles of Chinese and Russian origin across Albania.
From Brazil: Lia Maria Aguiar
Aguiar founded the Fundação Lia Maria Aguiar, which supports about 700 young people, and also launched the CARDE Art Design Museum to combine education and cultural preservation. Established in 2018 after acquiring part of Og Pozzoli’s antique car collection, the museum houses around 100 rare, fully functional automobiles. CARDE showcases automotive history as art, enriching the lives of underprivileged youth through its Restoration School and community initiatives.
From Chile: Bernardo Eggers Reccius
A pioneering figure in preserving Chile’s automotive heritage, Reccius founded Chile’s first automobile museum, the Auto Museum Moncopulli near Osorno, in 1995. The museum now hosts dozens of historic cars, including the world’s largest Studebaker collection outside the U.S.
From Germany: Dr. Friedhelm Loh
With an extensive collection of over 150 vehicles housed in a remarkable museum set in a historic industrial building – complete with a restaurant and cinema – the museum features notable exhibits including Michael Schumacher’s 2000 Ferrari Formula One car, a Benz Victoria from 1897, and a Ferrari 288 GTO once owned by Asterix creator Albert Uderzo.
From India: G. D. Gopal
The son of G. D. Naidu, often called the “Edison of India,” G. D. Gopal established the Gedee Car Museum in Coimbatore as a tribute to his father’s legacy. The museum houses about 100 carefully documented vehicles, primarily focusing on the history of practical, everyday cars rather than luxury models. Highlights include the Ford Model T, VW Beetle, Citroen 2CV, a replica of the 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen, and several rare German microcars.
From the US: Miles C. Collier
A former race car driver and lifelong automotive enthusiast, Collier is the founder of the Revs Institute® in Naples, Florida, which houses over 100 historic and exceptional automobiles, along with extensive archives. Collier views the automobile as the most important technological artifact of the 20th century and advocates preserving it as cultural heritage. His book The Archaeological Automobile underscores this mission by placing cars at the cultural centre of modern history.
Legends no longer with us:
From France: Henri Chapron (1886 – 1978)
One of France’s greatest 20th-century coachbuilders, Chapron made custom bodies for prestigious marques like Delage, Talbot, and Hispano-Suiza. After WWII, as mass production replaced artisanal coachbuilding, Chapron reinvented himself through his iconic collaboration with Citroën, producing convertible versions of the Citroën DS, including the famous factory cabriolet and presidential cars used by General de Gaulle.
From Italy: Flaminio Bertoni (1903 – 1964)
A celebrated Italian designer and artist, Bertoni is best known for his groundbreaking work in automotive design. He joined Citroën in the 1930s and played a key role in designing the iconic Citroën Traction Avant and the revolutionary Citroën DS. Bertoni’s blend of art and engineering left a profound impact on automotive design and Italian design culture.
From Sweden: Ewy Rosqvist-von Korff (1929 – 2024)
A trailblazing motorsport driver who inspired women in a male-dominated sport. Beginning her career in the 1950s, she won the European Ladies’ Championship three years in a row and became a factory driver for Volvo and later Mercedes-Benz. Her most famous victory came in 1962, when she became the first woman to win the gruelling Argentinian Gran Premio rally, beating 286 male competitors, winning every stage, and setting a speed record.
Commenting on the selection, FIVA President Tiddo Bresters stated:
“The legends chosen to join our Heritage Hall of Fame range from world-renowned icons to unsung heroes of the historic motoring world. From a female rally driver to designers, engineers, passionate collectors, and visionary entrepreneurs, this year’s eclectic group shares one unifying passion – historic motoring.”