A veteran sports car has crossed the ocean, and HGL Group played a key role in its adventure. The company’s latest project shows how precision and passion can meet in logistics.
Today’s story is about a special journey for an iconic car: the HGL Group was tasked with transporting a 1966 Porsche 912 to the United States of America.
The 912 is not just a collector’s favourite, it’s also an important piece of automotive history. But what makes this car so special?
Why Is The Porsche 912 Special?
The Porsche 912 was a popular model in its day: it was called the “little brother” of the famous 911. With a lighter body and a four-cylinder engine, it offered a sporty driving experience in a more affordable form. Equipped with a five-speed manual gearbox, the old-school sports car could go from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 13.5 seconds and had a top speed of 183 km/h (114 mph).
This type was produced until 1969, then it was put on the back burner for a while, but in recent years it has come back into the limelight. Several restored cars have surfaced, including special examples such as the 1966 model supplied by HGL.
Let’s Go To Florida!
The vintage Porsche which is main character of our story was bought by KAMManufaktur from its Czech owner who had purchased it from the United States.
KAMM creates lightweight cars designed to be driven, has improved on existing perfection to create the 912c.
We retain the classic look of the original while creating a driving experience reminiscent of the race cars of the 1960s.
– said Miklós Kázmér, owner of KAMManufaktur, in connection with the improved car.
After the sports car also fitting it with a carbon fibre body, the Hungarian company quickly found the next owner for the 912, which comes as no surprise, as photos taken by HGL show how wonderful the improved Porsche looks.
The sports car was bought by a Florida resident and so it was time for the reborn car to re-cross the ocean and meet its new owner. It was clear that a premium car deserved a premium logistics provider, so HGL Group, a company with extensive experience in transporting special and valuable items, was chosen.
An Iconic Vehicle Over The Ocean
If a road vehicle is to be transported by air, it is expected to be in working order and to have sufficient fuel in its tank. The Porsche 912, which rolled into Budapest airport on its own wheels, was fully compliant.
The HGL team took the utmost care in preparing this classic car for air transport. The 912 was securely fastened by specialists onto an appropriately sized air pallet, and then checked for compliance with all international transport regulations.
As the vehicle did not fit through the Airport screening machine, it was scanned using a special procedure known as “dog-scanning”, which means that a trained dog sniffs through it, to check that the car does not contain any banned substances.
The car left Hungary on 20 October and arrived at Miami airport on 24 October, transhipped through Luxembourg. After successfully clearing customs in Miami, the US and Hungarian parties jointly arranged for the car to be registered in the United States.
HGL – Unique Challenges, Unique Solutions
This special project demonstrates HGL’s reliability and care in handling unique and rare shipments. Our partners have 100% confidence in us, as we have done many similar jobs:
- we contributed to the success of the Salvador Dali exhibition,
- we supplied the Hawk-Eye technical equipment for the Sony Group, which is used to broadcast sporting events worldwide, and we have
- decades of experience in serving the specialised logistics needs of the film and entertainment industry.
We enjoyed every moment of this recent job, and hope this is just the beginning of our adventures with sports cars. Which anticipation may not be unfounded, as our partners tell us that more Porsche models could soon be soaring to Singapore and Australia.
We’re already warming up for the next big trip!