If ever I’d been tempted to do a runner down the high road with £3.3million of gold bullion in my boot, I was certainly in the right car for the job.
For under intense security I today rode shot-gun in one of a trio of 190mph Porsche Panamera supercar estate hatchbacks carrying more than £10million in total of the shiny precious metal on the 12 nerve-wracking miles from Britain’s biggest gold refinery in East London’s Docklands to their new secure underground vault in Hatton Garden in the heart of the capital’s jewellery quarter.
But four police outriders flanking our cars and stopping traffic en route meant our journey was relatively seamless.
A trio of Porsches were escorted by police outriders today as they carried more than £10million worth of gold bars across London
Even though my £118,000 Porsche was faster than a Ferrari F40 – and capable of accelerating from rest to 62mph in just 3.6 seconds – police closed off roads, supplied squad car protection with their ‘blues and twos’, and there was even a helicopter keeping the whole event – dubbed ‘Operation Gold Rush’ – under surveillance. Just in case I and my co-driver took a right when I should have made a left. The Brinks-Mat security man in the back seat was an added disincentive.
Fittingly, given the operation was taking place 50 years after the filming of the classic crime caper movie ‘The Italian Job’ starring Sir Michael Caine, Benny Hill, Robert Powell and Sir Noel Coward – which hit the screen the following year in 1969 – each of the three Porsches was painted either red, white or blue: the same colours of the Union Flag used to adorn the MINIs used in the big screen outing. But this was ‘The London Job.’
Gold refiners Baird &Co, which operates the UK’s largest gold refinery from a 30,0000 square foot high security premises at a discreet address in London’s Docklands, recently celebrated its own 50th anniversary after being founded in 1967. The company, which refines gold for clients around the world, completed what is currently the single biggest collection of gold bars in London after inviting Porsche to assist with the daunting job of transporting the shipment.
Police closed off roads, supplied squad car protection with their ‘blues and twos’, and there was even a helicopter keeping the whole event under surveillance
One of the Porsches is pictured crossing Tower Bridge as it makes its way from the Docklands to Hatton Garden in Holborn
The £3.3million gold bullion in the boot of each car would buy 28 of the £118,828 Porsche Panameras, while the £10million total in the three cars would buy 84 of them
The 24 gold bars weighing a hefty 300kg in total and are together worth more than £10million, depending on daily gold market values. They were divided equally across the three cars, with eight bars together weighing 100kg and worth £3.3million crated up in each of the trio of vehicles.
Each individual gold bullion bar weighs 12.5kg (equivalent to around thirteen bags of sugar) is similar in size to a computer keyboard. Large brick or small French loaf – and is worth around £420,000, enough to buy a decent three-bedroomed house in many areas.
The £3.3million gold bullion in the boot of each car would buy 28 of the £118,828 Porsche Panameras, while the £10million total in the three cars would buy 84 of them.
The blue, red and white Panamera Turbo Sport Turismos – each carrying over £3.3 million in gold bullion – pass the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand on their way through London
Boot capacity of up to 520-litres – expanding 1,390-litres with seats down – proved more than sufficient for the £3.3m of crated gold bullion. Pictured: Ray Massey
Security was rightly a concern. For while stealing vast quantities gold bullion is a staple of block-busters and movies it’s also a high risk in real life
Bullion merchants Baird&Co had stipulated that each of the standard production cars for the job had to be capable of carrying four adults – the driver, a radio operator and specialist security – and have the load capacity to house two specially-designed gold bullion crates that, when containing gold bars, weigh more than 160kg. Porsche said: ‘Despite the cargo, they also needed to retain significant reserves of performance for the gold’s rapid journey through Central London.’
Security was rightly a concern. For while stealing vast quantities gold bullion is a staple of block-busters and movies – from the ’Italian Job’ to James Bond’s ‘Goldfinger in Ian Fleming’s book and big screen outing – it’s also a high risk in real-life.
The infamous Brinks-Mat robbery at Heathrow in November 1983 saw a record £26million of gold bullion (worth an estimated £500million today) stolen from a warehouse. Although many of the gang behind it were convicted, the majority of the stolen gold was never recovered.
The three Porsche estate hatchbacks pass the Shard near London Bridge on their way to deliver the gold to the new vault in Hatton Garden
The 24 gold bars weighing a hefty 300kg in total and are together worth more than £10million, depending on daily gold market values
Ironically, the top secret route – past the Tower of London, Waterloo Station, and the High Court – had to be tweaked to avoid Blackfriars Bridge because Hollywood actor Tom Cruise was shooting the next ‘Mission Impossible’ film there.
Two of the all-wheel-drive Panamera Turbo Sport Turismos used in the operation – including mine – were turbo-charged 4.0 litre V8 petrol versions linked to and eight-speed automatic gear-box and developing 550 horse-power, equivalent to the pulling power of five Ford Fiestas. Acceleration from 0 to to 62 mph is a blistering 3.6 seconds, hitting 100mph in just over 8 seconds, up to a top speed of 188mph. It has a similar engine to one used last year in a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S which towed a giant Airbus A380. A Porsche spokesman said: ‘The performance of the Panamera Sport Turismo is extraordinary – it can out-accelerate a Ferrari F40 .’
Boot capacity of up to 520-litres – expanding 1,390-litres with seats down – proved more than sufficient for the £3.3m of crated gold bullion. And in the case of an emergency, the Panamera’s powerful carbon brakes bring it to a complete halt from 62mph in just 1.8 seconds – twice as fast as it accelerates. On fuel it averages 30mpg, but with £3.3m in the boot, would you really care about the cost of fuel?
Ray Massey pretends to steal one of the gold bars. Each individual gold bullion bar weighs 12.5kg, equivalent to around thirteen bags of sugar
The blue, red and white cars, which were turbo-charged 4.0 litre V8 petrol versions, pass by St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London
The third Porsche in the trio was a 680horse-power Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo finished in Carmine Red and driven by a German team, which costs from £139,287, accelerates to 62mph in 3.4-seconds and can reach a top speed of 192 mph, with an electric-only range of 30 miles.
The convoy left Baird&Co’s East London premises at Sunday lunchtime and was tracked by a helicopter and by security staff on the ground as the blue, red and white Panamera Turbo Sport Turismos – each carrying over £3.3 million in gold bullion – passed through the streets of London. A lead car containing security staff recorded the progress on video. Handily, the air suspension on each of the cars meant the vehicles remained level throughout.
Once at the Hatton Garden vault, specialist teams extracted the heavy gold crates from each of the three Porsches and transferred it into the new secure vault – the first gold to go into it – where the crates were opened and the gold bars counted and catalogued. Thankfully all 24 were present and correct – including the eight in my car whose two crates I helped to crowbar open.
Baird&Co had stipulated that each of the standard production cars for the job had to be capable of carrying four adults – the driver, a radio operator and specialist security
The Porsches head over Waterloo Bridge. The route had to be tweaked to avoid Blackfriars Bridge because Tom Cruise was shooting the next ‘Mission Impossible’ film there
A Porsche spokesman said: ‘Every gold bar is created with meticulous precision – and every part of the process is carefully examined and thought through by Baird & Co. Prudently, once formed into bars, the gold is stored at Baird & Co’s state-of-the-art underground vault in Hatton Garden.
‘But, getting to the vault from the gold refinery means travelling 12-miles across London – a journey that carries an inherent risk. In an effort to reduce this risk, Bairds & Co resolved that the gold needed to be transported with great efficiency, under careful watch and that time was of the essence – the longer it took, the greater the risk.’
Bullion bosses pointed out that although they do use armoured vans, they also transfer gold secretly in more conventional cars to avoid attention.
A Baird&Co director Nick Hammond said: ‘We take an awful lot of measures to ensure the security of our staff and, of course, the gold – we really do try and avoid risk. And in this instance, we had a very large shipment of gold to transport – which is quite rare.
Gold refiners Baird &Co, which operates the UK’s largest gold refinery from a 30,0000 square foot high security premises at a discreet address in London’s Docklands
Ray Massey’s £118,000 Porsche was faster than a Ferrari F40 – and capable of accelerating from rest to 62mph in just 3.6 seconds
Gold refiners Baird &Co, which operates the UK’s largest gold refinery from a 30,0000 square foot high security premises at a discreet address in London’s Docklands
Once at the Hatton Garden vault, specialist teams extracted the heavy gold crates from each of the three Porsches and transferred it into the new secure vault
‘We had to rely on the cars to be absolutely reliable, to be stable and to be more than capable of carrying the gold with capacity – in terms of performance – to spare.
‘We didn’t want the vehicles to be anywhere near their limits, which is asking quite a lot. And, despite the phenomenal weight – and the density of the weight – the Panameras had to carry, they behaved impeccably.’
Keeping calm was helped by massage seats, and soothing music from the 21-speaker, 1,455 watt Burmester High-End 3D Surround Sound System, and choice of eight different interior light hues.
And to help keep safe, Infra-red cameras checked for pedestrians and wild animals at the side of the road which may pose a danger if they stepped out. The cameras detect a heat signature even when potential danger is invisible to the human eye, such as at night, and alert driver via dashboard display.