Evos and GT-Rs, Ferraris and Lamborghinis; we gave them a lot of spotlight before and now it is time for the customs to take the stage and enjoy the limelight. After its brief introduction at Publika last year, Art of Speed is back to rock 2013 and this time are they bigger, better, and definitely louder. With Citta Mall’s massive outdoor parking lot being their playground for 8 – 9 June, the scene was littered with a great mix of American cars, Custom Retro Japanese rides and lowly-slung road-sweepers!
Where should we start first? Since the scene is mostly invaded by Japanese, let’s have a look on what they have in store for the retro lovers here in Malaysia.
Maybe the ones that first caught our eyes upon arriving at Citta Mall is a line of immaculately-restored Nissan Bluebirds, or should we turn the clocks and call them appropriately as Datsuns.
One could date back the 510 series all the way back to 1967, which we could safely assume is older than most of the readers out there. But the cars being put on display are almost in showroom condition and do not look like 50 years old at all.
We particularly like this 510, designed to look like the SSS BRE (Brock Racing Enterprises) driven by John Morton in the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America). Hats off for the great effort!
If you know your Skylines, then this red 2000 GT-EX should not be a stranger to you. Did you know that this was the first Japanese production vehicle to be fitted with a turbocharged engine?
If you only know the RX-7 and RX-8 as the Mazda rotary machines in your vocabulary, then you should be adding in this wonderful RX-4 as well.
Looking great lined up with the Toyota Celica GT!
The guys from the Pickup Owners Club also came down to give their support for Art of Speed 2013, and they sure did show up with an interesting lineup. Some cars are so old that even we could not identify them properly!
Got bitten by the love bugs?
A very nice looking Volkswagen for the gentleman; the Karmann Ghia.
One of the main features that had made Art of Speed special to us since last year was undoubtedly the American muscles that had turned out in a small number, but impossible to miss.
Although the Chevrolets, Cadillacs and Fords stole quite a lot of spotlight from the visitors,…
…we were glued to this American legend which had left a big mark on the big screen; the Shelby GT 500 ‘Eleanor’ from the original 1974 film ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’.
And of course, we could not get our eyes away from this special hot rod creation from Thor Chops Kustoms that came all the way from Thailand. Looking absolutely awesome!
Aside from showcasing these unique cars, Art of Speed also gives the opportunity for the two-wheelers community and the stance movement to share the spotlight and enjoy the diverse taste that they have in Malaysia.
With a massive number of 60,000 spectators received in the course of two days, Art of Speed 2013 had definitely succeeded in “Celebrating Art in Automotive Culture” while bringing a new whiff of air in our local auto scene. A big congratulations goes to Switchblade Kuala Lumpur for this awesome achievement, until next year!
