Nicholas O’Hara Funeral Directors have run a distinctive fleet since the early 1990s. Their latest investment of two Pilato XJ limousines and a Pilato Queen II hearse bring this ultra-modern fleet right up to date. Anthony O’Hara told us about his new vehicles, from Pilato’s UK partner Superior Automotive.
O’Hara’s entire fleet comes from Superior UK. In 2015, they added the Queen II Pilato hearse to their fleet, and later that year also became the first funeral directors in the UK to take delivery of the very first fully-customised XJ Pilato limousines.
“The Pilato Jaguar vehicles are a rare find in the UK,” said Anthony. “The bodywork is designed by Pilato in Italy and the vehicles are finished to our spec by Superior UK. We have a long relationship with Kevin Smith and his team. When we needed to add to our fleet this year, there was no question that we would use Superior UK.”
O’Hara’s new Pilato XJ limousines are an upgrade of their previous vehicles, and the hearse joins O’Hara’s fleet as an additional vehicle.
“We are huge fans of the Jaguar XJ design, so we upgraded the limousine at the right time to get the last of this current design,” explains Anthony.
“The Queen II hearse is our fourth Pilato hearse and was built to match our existing hearse. We have the Superior slide-out deck, which makes life a lot easier for loading and unloading coffins and floral displays. We asked Superior to install a PA system into both the new and existing hearse for outdoor funerals or crematorium funerals with a large number of attendees. We are possibly the only UK funeral directors with a PA system built in to our hearses, and I’m grateful to Superior for being able to achieve this for us.”
O’Hara’s newest vehicles were out on the road within days of delivery, and have received great feedback from families.
“Everyone loves the look of our Pilato XJ vehicles,” said Anthony, “and they particularly like the seating arrangement we went with for the limousines – two executive style seats rather than the traditional bench seats for a more comfortable ride. Superior UK fitted their hygiene screens so we can transport more people and keep families together within Covid restrictions.”
Kevin Smith of Superior Automotive UK is delighted to offer O’Hara Funeral Directors continued support. “We have been supplying O’Hara’s with vehicles for more than five years and it is always our pleasure to bring Nicholas and Anthony’s ideas to life,” he said. “O’Hara’s fleet is a stunning example of what can be done with Pilato design. We are proud to be the official supplier of Pilato’s Jaguar vehicles to the UK.”
“As always, we are pleased with the excellent service and support received from everyone at Superior UK,” said Anthony. “They kept things moving smoothly during Covid, and the vehicles are superb.”