The annual Gumball 3000 rally is good business for international car logistics.
Driving the Amalfi coast’s jaw-dropping clifftop-hugging roads in a hire car is amazing. But wouldn’t it be annoying to be doing so in a cramped automatic hire car, knowing your Ferrari 250 GTO or Lamborghini Countach is in the garage at home.
Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. It is possible - and increasingly popular - to bring your car on holiday with you. The global luxury car transportation business has boomed over the past decade.
One of the biggest players in the market is Dan Hallworth who set up his international car logistics firm from his home in Oldham, northern England.
Hallworth, 35, a keen sportscars fan, said he noticed the increase in the number of Middle Eastern people coming to Europe for the summer season about 15 years ago. “I knew a lot of them have some serious supercar collections,” he told Mr Family Office. “And assumed they’d love to be able to drive them here.”
So he set about figuring out how to organize specialist airfreight and land-based transport for cars, and founded his own business Dan Car Logistics.
“Business built up quickly, with lots of demand from the Middle East,” Hallworth said. “Especially in the summer, when they are looking to escape the 45-50 C (113-122 F) degree temperatures.
“Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait are where our key customers live, and we help them bring their cars to Europe or the US,” he says.
More often than not they bring more than just one car. “Nowadays, they’re bringing several cars along with them, like they’re suitcases,” he says. “They are doing it for status.
Another air freight delivery for Dan Car Logistics.
Hallworth said that over the years he has helped transport all sorts of cars, but “the most popular are Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bugatti, Porsche, and Mercedes G class”.
The most expensive car he has transported so far is a classic Ferrari worth - and insured - for $33 million. But, combined, he has overseen much more expensive transits. “Sometimes we have trucks with cars worth more than $70 million, and a few more in trailers,” he says. “In times like that we have to take out extra insurance.”
Generally, he said, customers either come from wealthy families or are self-made millionaires. “It is often people with generational wealth, or people who have made money from oil and gas and other businesses. They have houses throughout the world, and want to use their cars everywhere they are.”
Most trips include more than one leg, Hallworth says. It’s no longer just one trip to the south of France, Italy or London. “They’ll make the trip to one destination, and then move again - with their cars - from there to the next place or places.”
However, demand from the Middle East is notably lower this year because of the impact of the war in Iran on travel throughout the region. “We expect it to pick up as soon as the war is over, as everyone will want to start travelling again.”
The cost of transporting cars varies depending on the route, speed of delivery and the size and weight of the cars. “It can cost as little as $5,000 to $35,000 depending on the specifications.”
The fastest-growing part of the business is transporting cars for the annual supercar Gumball 3000 rally. In June more than 120 cars - ranging from classic models to hypercars - raced from Miami to Mexico City. Next year, the race is scheduled for Seoul to Tokyo. His advice: book in now.
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