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    mercredi 11 juin 2014

    Malaysia: A Modifying Melting Pot


    Malaysia: A Modifying Melting Pot
    You know when you go to a different country and come away having experienced the complete opposite of what you expected? Well, that’s what happened to me in Malaysia this past weekend. To tell you the truth, I didn’t know what to expect. I had only been to the place on vacations before and never had a chance to even notice the car scene, let alone cover it. This is a country which is best described as a melting pot of cultures and ideologies. Its capital city, Kuala Lumpur, has an energy I have never felt anywhere else before; a place where new opportunity seems to be materialising by the day, and where internationalism is welcomed with open arms rather than being fought away with fear as it is in some of the more established countries I have travelled to.
    So it’s no surprise then that Malaysia is home to a vibrant car culture – one I was able to get a good feel for a few days ago at a small but very cool event held in the heart of KL. Art of Speed might only be in its third year, but it’s quickly gathering momentum. At the same time  it’s helping to give some real direction to Malaysia’s growing custom and modified car scene.
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    After a six-hour flight with the guys from Mooneyes and Flat-4 Japan who were also invited to participate in the show, I was dropped right into the middle of it all.
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    The blistering heat and humidity of this region took a while to acclimatise to, but the venue itself – a shopping mall in the outskirts of the city centre – proved to be a great choice of location. Not only did it foster a neat atmosphere, but there was plenty of shade too!
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    The whole energy of the event was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, and to be honest was more akin to a big party than one of those shows that drags on all day with not much happening. It’s entirely due to the fact that Malaysian enthusiasts (and those that flew in from Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore to check Art of Speed out) have an admirable enthusiasm and pride for their cars, and their local movement. This was something totally reflected in the metal that I came across.
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    When it comes to inspiration, it’s obvious Japan has a big influence here. One of my favourite cars was this KE70 Corolla – a clean example executed with taste throughout and sitting just right on a set of Riverside Riverge wheels. It was my choice for the ‘Speedhunters Pick’ award I was asked to present.
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    The show itself was split up in a few categories and each group was separated in the parking area at the center of the mall which made navigating your way around very easy. It was cool to see some drift cars in the mix too, like this very clean A31 Cefiro which had a mean street vibe going on.
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    Of all the sub-genres represented at Art of Speed, the kyusha scene certainly seemed to be the strongest. There was a great selection of cars present – this MarkII on steelies showing that the clean approach with a few well thought out details never fails.
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    The Japanese kyusha touches were all present too, from the Kyokujitsu-ki flag, to thetsurikawa train handle, and even a number plate with folded up corners.
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    This early ’70s Corolla wagon wouldn’t have looked out of place at the Mooneyes Street Car Nationals. It pulled off the rat-style approach rather well I thought.
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    I was quite impressed to see a few old school rotary-powered Mazdas present too. It started off with this RX-3 Savanna coupe exhibiting the much-loved ‘Works’ look with contrasting-colour fender flares.
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    Among the classics there were a few more modern cars to be seen – modern-classics if you will. Machines like this yellow FC3S RX-7 sitting on RAYS Volk Racing TE37s.
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    This particular car was definitely not just for looks and underneath the vented bonnet sat a heavily tuned 13B complete with a rather large turbocharger tucked low down in the engine bay. I saw this thing drive out at the end of the show on Sunday and it sounded angry.
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    It was hard to miss this Corolla sitting next to the little rotor-group as well. The big front-mount intercooler and its drag-style stance hinted that it was far from stock under the hood.
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    I’m sure I wasn’t the only one surprised to see a hard-tuned 13B in the hole though. Mix and match as they say!
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    One car that I kept coming back to was another little compact coupe from the ’70s. The Galant GTO GS-R is something I seldom see, even in Japan.
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    I really love Japanese cars from this era, a time when local manufacturers were – quite obviously – being inspired by the muscle car movement stateside. The owner of this GTO had taken the look one step further with some wide wheels and old racing tyres.
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    In the Datsun camp I found this beautifully executed Sunny GX Coupe which was doing it right in pretty much every department. The Watanabe wheels with semi-slick tyres added a perfect touch of aggression.
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    The sun was harsh, and if I spent longer than 20 minutes out in the open I’d be fighting to keep the sweat from running into my eyes – one of the drawbacks of having no hair! Thankfully, the guys behind Art of Speed provided a much-appreciated oasis in the form of an air conditioned gallery inside the mall itself.
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    This is where Shige-san and the guys from Mooneyes had set up shop for the weekend; bringing with them tons of cool merchandise and Wildman – Mooneye’s famous pinstriper who is celebrating 25 years in the business this year. There were other famous Japanese automotive artists around too; pinstriping helmets, cell phone covers or anything else people brought in with them.
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    It was also cool to see Naoto Fujita from Flat-4 in Tokyo at the event. A week earlier he had shipped over the EMPI ‘Inch Pincher III’ – an iconic Japanese VW that I actually almost see on a daily basis as I live very close to their shop on Meguro-dori. This is a car that really deserves a feature!
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    After a much-needed cooling off it was back outside again to see what other treasures had shown up.
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    The Japanese selection was finished off with a couple of C210 Skylines; one of which was powered by an SR20. That particular engine swap would certainly give the Nissan a great mix of weight balance and performance.
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    Chatting with some of the local guys, it quickly became obvious that owning a car in Malaysia is no easy feat. Taxes alone make the purchase of anything beyond a small city car extremely expensive – and that’s without taking into account the capacity of the engine which road tax is calculated upon. So I wouldn’t even like to think what level of financial investment it would take to keep a Chevy Impala like this one, running on the road. The car guys here are dedicated bunch, that’s for sure!
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    If muscle is what you are into, you wouldn’t have been disappointed at Art of Speed. In my mind, nothing represents the style better than a tuned 396 Camaro.
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    It was hard not to smile at this chopped and dropped Volvo Amazon complete with a comical tooth-laden grille. It looked like a rather cool project which just needed glass to be complete and was easily the most unique car at the show.
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    Or was it? If I had to chose one car that screamed ‘Malaysia!’ it would have to be this appropriately-trimmed Mini Moke which showed up on the Sunday morning.
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    Here’s something you don’t see every day – a late ’70s Subaru 1600 GF sedan. I was really interested to find out what exactly was living in engine bay, but I never managed to track down its owner. Like me, you’ll just have to imagine what hides beneath that throttled scoop!
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    Along with the variety of Japanese cars that made up a good proportion of the event, the aircooled scene in Malaysia seems to be very evolved. Included in the line-up of VWs was the show’s overall winner – a car I’ll be taking a closer look at in my forthcoming second post from Art of Speed.
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    I think it doesn’t matter what cars you are into, Beetles appeal to everyone out there. Sheer simplicity and the fact that they’ve been around forever aside, these were some of the first cars to ever be customised, so they’re always going to be popular.
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    The owner of the black Beetle on the left-hand side of this shot drove a whole day on country roads to get to Art of Speed. Now that’s dedication! It turns out this wasn’t even the longest journey he’s made, as last year he drove his Bug to another show in Bangkok which was three times the distance.
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    No selection of aircooled rides would be complete without at least one Karmann Ghia, right?
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    Or a VW bus for that matter – seen here in double-cab guise sporting a very evident military theme.
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    Later in the day this MkII Golf sitting on BBS wheels and running UK plates appeared out of nowhere. It was a great reminder of what a legend this car was back in its day, and how many years on they still look good when modified right. Apparently these cars and the Peugeot 205 GTI were some of the most crashed cars of the ’80s and early ’90s! I’m sure that lift-off oversteer can be thanked for much of that…
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    The final side of the show was the Continental section, which consisted of a wide variety of European cars – some old, others a little newer.
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    Aside from a Fiat 131 that brought back many memories from my childhood – mainly because it was the first car I ever drove – it was this fiery red Giulia that most people seemed to be in awe of. Alfa Romeo has a great following in this region of Asia, but this was a very welcome sight nonetheless.
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    It felt as though there was a bit of a Gatebil theme going over on the opposite side of the parking lot with cars like this E30 BMW taking a more aggressive tuning route.
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    Check out this Volvo too. Aside from the crazy one-off widening, there were some big surprises under the bonnet…
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    Volvo power has given way to Nissan propulsion in the form of an RB25 swap mated to generously sized turbo. It would be cool to see this thing shredding tyres around Sepang!
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    Anyone into stance has a few problems to deal with in Malaysia. There’s the roads for starters, which seem to either have speed bumps or potholes, and of course the authorities, who don’t seem to like cars that sit low. Still, where there’s a will there’s a way and one car that caught my attention was this clean E30 dropped on a set of bronze steelies.
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    Old Benzes have an almost inexplicable lure about them, and that’s before you drop them low on stock body-colour-matched wheels. Double win here!
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    I spent most of the second day wandering around the show taking in more of the details. Despite the fact that Art of Speed was much smaller than the massive shows I’m used to covering in Japan and other countries, there was a lot to look at.
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    It certainly gave me more time to appreciate the work that so many put into their pride and joys. It also meant that I actually had time to meet people and chat about cars and the Malaysian scene in general.
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    That’s why I want to say a big thank you to everyone that came up to me to say hello. It was a pleasure meeting you all and I’m still amazed at the amount of stickers I gave out – literally hundreds upon hundreds!
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    Art of Speed concluded with a ceremony where awards were given out to the best cars and bikes in each of the various classes. Shige-san of Mooneyes did the honours alongside Asep, the event organiser.
    It was a great end to an equally great event and a good chance for me to take a break from an established scene like the one in Japan, to one that’s still rather young, but growing very fast. We’ll be seeing a lot more cool cars come out of Malaysia in the next few years, that’s for sure!
    Dino Dalle Carbonare 
    via .speedhunters.com



    Les brèves du mercredi


    Au menu des brèves rapportées de Sardaigne, les joies et les peines de Hyundai Motosport, un autre Néo-Zélandais pilote d’usine, la victoire de Basso en rallye national, des « gremlins » chez VW, 45 000 spectateurs à Cagliari…
    En moins d’une semaine, Hyundai Motorsport a connu les joies d’une 1ère victoire au Rallye d’Antibes-Côte d’Azur avec Bryan Bouffier, les joies d’un doublé au Rally Italia-Sardegna après l’ES4 et les peines d’une i20 WRC complètement détruite par Juho Hanninen. La seconde en quinze jours…
    Le Péruvien Nicolas Fuchs a parcouru 1,3 km de spéciale en Sardaigne (ES1). Le moteur de sa Ford Fiesta R5 a cassé en quittant le parc d’assistance vendredi matin sur la route vers la 1ère« vraie » spéciale du rallye.
    Hayden Paddon est le 1er Néo-Zélandais pilote officiel en WRC depuis le regretté Peter « Possum » Bourne qui fut pilote 555 Subaru WRT dans les années 90 puis Subaru Rally Team Australia jusqu’en 2002. Son meilleur résultat fut une 5e place au Rallye de Nouvelle-Zélande 1999. Hayden Paddon disputera le Rallye de Pologne et le Rallye de Finlande avec Hyundai Motorsport.
    En marge du rallye WRC était organisée la 1ère manche du championnat d’Italie sur terre. Giandomenico Basso s’est imposé au volant de la Ford Fiesta R5 roulant au gaz et chaussée de pneumatiques Michelin Latitude Cross H2. Umberto Scandola (Skoda/Michelin) et Paolo Andreucci (Peugeot 208 T16) complètent le podium. En 41min27s2, Basso aurait signé le 2etemps des WRC-2 dans l’ES11 (59,13 km).
    Un test de drapeau jaune électronique a été effectué dans l’ES10. En cas d’incident dans la spéciale, les équipages sont prévenus par un signal LED au tableau de bord et doivent ralentir. Il ne s’agissait que d’un exercice ce week-end, avant une mise en application dans un futur proche.
    La confusion dans les informations données à Ogier dans l’ES11 est due à l’écran d’affichage trop petit dans la Polo R WRC. Le team VW a envoyé un message « JML overheat » (surchauffe) et le texte est apparu : « JML over ». Seb a cru que son équipier avait abandonné et a un peu relâché. Par ailleurs, la surchauffe-moteur sur la VW de Latvala (ES11) était une fausse alerte donnée par un capteur défectueux.
    L’alternateur défaillant sur la Citroën DS3 WRC de Kris Meeke est peut-être la conséquence d’un atterrissage brutal dans la Superspéciale. Une durit de refroidissement s’est percée et du liquide a coulé sur l’alternateur.
    Seb, Julien, Jari-Matti, Mikka et Joest Capito, le patron de VW Motorsport ont fini la cérémonie du podium dans le port d’Alghero. On ne sait pas qui a poussé l’autre en 1er
    Mads Ostberg a fait rire toute la salle de presse en conférence avec son histoire d’hamburger. « Les trois Volkswagen et la Citroën, c’est comme les quatre éléments d’un hamburger : le pain dessus, le fromage, la viande et le pain dessous. J’ai été la viande, le pain dessous et ce week-end, le fromage. J’aimerais bien être le pain de dessus… »
    D’après les organisateurs, il y avait 45 000 spectateurs à la cérémonie de départ de Cagliari et 60 000 touristes ont fait le déplacement en Sardaigne pour, en plus des vacances, suivre le rallye.

    YAMAHA XT600 BY SARTORIE MECCANICHE


    Customized Yamaha XT600 motorcycle by Sartorie Meccaniche of Italy
    The venerable Yamaha XT600 is one of those motorcycles that everyone seems to like. After almost two decades of production, this simple but rugged enduro disappeared from the showrooms in 2003—but it’s still readily available on the secondhand market.
    One of the XT600’s biggest fans is Francesco Torricella, who runs the delightfully named Italian workshop Sartorie Meccaniche. The affair started when he bought a 1980s-vintage XT600 as a non-runner for just €500, and it wasn’t long before the bike was back on the road.
    Customized Yamaha XT600 motorcycle by Sartorie Meccaniche of Italy
    “We fixed the basics to make it run, and used it for a summer trip around the hills of Tuscany and the Cinque Terre [the rugged coast of the Italian Riviera],” Francesco says. “I learnt a lot from the bike and fell in love with its engine and simplicity—but I found the weak points pretty quickly too.”
    Despite the poor brakes and ‘marshmallow’ suspension, he saw potential. “This bike has something special—after all, it made Dakar history!—but it’s asleep inside.”
    Customized Yamaha XT600 motorcycle by Sartorie Meccaniche of Italy
    Once summer was over, the Sartorie Meccaniche crew set to work. They detabbed the frame, fitted a new rear loop, and painted it in Lotus’ classy grey Storm Titanium color. The engine was fully rebuilt and slotted in, with a few modifications.
    The XT600 was supplied with numerous engine options, but luckily, Sartorie Meccaniche found themselves with the most powerful 45hp variant. After removing the heavy electric starter, the cases were refinished in wrinkle black and the covers polished. A carburetor re-jet made the most of pod filters and the custom free-flowing exhaust, also finished in black.
    To bring the suspension into the 21st century, Francesco has grafted on the front end from a modern Honda CRF450. Braking is boosted by Kawasaki Ninja components. There’s an alloy chainguard from the German aftermarket specialist KEDO, and a bigger sprocket at the back: “Easy wheelies and more punch!”
    Customized Yamaha XT600 motorcycle by Sartorie Meccaniche of Italy
    The most inspired choice, though, is the tank. It’s from a 1950s Motom, an obscure Italian marque that specialized in small-capacity bikes. The paint is BMW’s ‘Atacama Yellow,’ usually found on the Z4 sportscar, and gives the bike its name—Atacama Seicento, meaning 600. (The lightning bolt is a tribute to AMA motocross legend Bob ‘Hurricane’ Hanna.)
    As always, the little details are just as important as the big picture. The headlight is a fog light taken from a 1960s rally car, turned 90 degrees before mounting, and was designed by Pininfarina. The rear fender is from a Ducati Monster. There’s a keyless Motogadgetignition system, and behind the custom seat unit, a beautiful Wrenchmonkees x Sandqvist tool roll.
    Customized Yamaha XT600 motorcycle by Sartorie Meccaniche of Italy
    The XT600 is now much lighter, brakes better, and handles better. “Obviously it’s not a Dakar bike any more,” says Francesco. “But it’s a super fun bike.”
    I’d put it in my own garage in a shot.
    Visit the Sartorie Meccaniche website for more stylish Italian customs, and follow the company’s news via its Facebook page.
    Customized Yamaha XT600 motorcycle by Sartorie Meccaniche of Italy
    via BIKEexif