243 Star Torque Autumn 2016

THE BUSINESS
Dutton is a name synonymous with the Australian
transportation industry since 1911.
Back then Jeff Dutton’s grandfather, Albert, built horse-drawn
carriages, but it was in 1953/4 when the business became
Porsche’s authorised repair agents that the Dutton name became
a permanent fi xture in the enthusiast market and Jeff joined the
family business in 1965. “We did the Porsche work until 1970, but
my mechanical apprenticeship was served working on Ferraris
and Lancias, doing pre-delivery work for WH Lowe, who were the
importers at the time”, explained Jeff.
From 1970, Dutton was also the Citroen distributor before
the business was sold in 1989 and Jeff then set up on his own,
solidifying his reputation as an astute player in the classic and
race car marketplaces with distributorships for Lamborghini,
Lotus, Aston Martin, AC, TVR and Caterham.
Although traditionally known as a classic-era dealer, Dutton
Garage has now embraced the 1980s and early 1990s as key
sources of business. “It’s a generational thing. Guys in their 40s
today grew up idolising Lamborghinis, Porsches and Ferraris of
that era. They had the poster on the wall, they’ve had a good 10
years of business and now they are after realising their childhood.”
In 2012, Gavin Fernandez and George Nakas, acquired ‘Dutton
Sporting Cars’ and evolved the company into the diverse business
it is today. “The three-floor showroom holds 150 vehicles and we
sell up to 40 significant vehicles per month through the showroom,
where there is currently in excess of $30 million of stock on the
fl oor” explains Dutton.
Dutton is the largest Australian car wholesaler with more than
40 buyers nationwide, purchasing and exceeding 10,000 sold
vehicles last fi nancial year in both the retail and wholesale space
– with plans to grow that to 15,000 cars soon. The business is
managed and run by car experts and motoring enthusiasts rather
than salespeople, and with their immense buying power, any car
anywhere in the world can be bought and priced aggressively
for sale.
THE SHOWROOM
These dream cars, collected from all over the world, are
masterpieces available to both international buyers and
national car lovers. As masterpieces, they deserve a gallery
rather than a showroom, which is what they have.
The Dutton Garage showroom is set to become an iconic
Melbourne building. Designed by the world-renowned architect
Karl Fender, the 3,678 sq ft building holds the largest array of
rare and collectible cars in Australia. Just like the car stock, it
effortlessly combines the best of the old with the startling new
across four floors and here are some of the ways it achieves this:
The existing industrial roof and fl oor structures were exposed,
with all service runs celebrated, to create a robust backdrop
that contrasted with the luxury cars’ graceful profi les. A sense
of theatre was created by the integration of salvaged cast iron
fl uted columns from Melbourne’s Myer Emporium building and
the windows were salvaged from the Old Members Grandstand
of the MCG and incorporated in to the building.
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