Aston Martin DB4 GT
Industry
Route
- London to Australia
Services Provided
Client Account Manager
Dan Leach
Projects Team Manager
Overview
A Historic Race
On Saturday, May 2nd 1959, the now world famous Silverstone Circuit hosted the Bank Holiday Trophy race. Those in attendance got to witness some of the finest drivers of the era piloting their cars on the very limit. The main race of the day saw legends such as Jack Sears, Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss competing for honours, driving for three different British manufacturers: Austin Healey, Jaguar and Aston Martin.
Car number 54, with the talented Stirling Moss behind the wheel, went on to take the win. Perhaps not the biggest shock as Stirling’s ability was well known. However, the car he was driving, the then new Aston Martin DB4 GT entered by David Brown, had just won on its debut outing.
"For Hemisphere this is yet another high profile automotive shipment under our belts and again shows how our experience, understanding and attention to detail results in a successful outcome for all concerned."
Dan Leach
Projects and Automotive Team Manager, HFS
Delivery
A Worldwide Client Relationship
Fast forward to 2016, and the Aston Martin DB4 GT has long since taken its place in history. It’s now one of Aston Martin’s most coveted racing cars – especially in ‘lightweight’ form – of which only 8 were made. The big news was that Aston Martin had just announced their plans for a further 25 ‘continuation’ cars, to be built at the original factory in Newport Pagnell.
Now in the present day, one lucky owner – whose DB4 GT continuation had recently been completed, and now sat at the Aston Martin Works, Newport Pagnell – needed a reliable partner to transport the car to Australia.
This raised some questions. How do you go about shipping such a vehicle half-way around the world? How do you find someone that truly understands the importance and needs of this cargo?
Thankfully our client knew who to turn to – after all, they already had a strong relationship with our UK sister company, Hemisphere Freight Services Limited, and knew of our expertise from the handling and shipping of some notable vehicles in the past, and our assistance with supercar tours across the world. Our experience was just what the client needed, and after in-depth communications, we began to form a plan.
Results
Over the Line in Time
The decision was made to ship the car by ocean freight, and whilst we began to discuss transport and loading, an added complication came to light: the car had to be exported by a specific date or Aston Martin were going to be charged VAT by UK customs, which if incurred would be passed on to the buyer. We swiftly liaised with the Aston Martin factory to come up with a date that gave them enough time to prepare the car, and allowed us to meet a suitable vessel to export it in time.
Once agreed, we quickly arranged the car’s collection, selecting our transport partner on the basis of them already being known to the Newport Pagnell factory, which we knew was of importance for this particular move. In addition, we planned marine insurance and container loading, the former of course being vital for cargo of this value, and something we were able to provide through our broker.
This project is a perfect example of what can be achieved with the right outlook, customer focus, and our ability to fully understand our clients’ needs and find a solution, even when working under pressure. We very much look forward to working further with the client, which we hope will include rolling out ‘Archie’ again in 2020.
