They started off as a small group of enthusiasts, sharing their love and passion in wildly customizing their rides as a medium to express their artistic side. In what is known as the ‘kustom kulture’, it sure is encouraging to see this chapter of the automotive scene growing steadily along the years as Art of Speed enters its third year in 2014.
Taking place once again at the open space car park at Citta Mall, the usually quiet mall is brought to life with the appearance of countless customized machines, mainly cars and bikes from the yesteryears. Taking their turn in basking in the spotlight of the automotive scene, there is always something interesting to be discovered at Art of Speed.
Receiving a great support from the Euro community, they turned up in a huge number with a wide variety altogether. Over at the entrance, a number of BMW E30s caught our attention like this faint yellow ‘Gatebil Taxi’. This red E30 cabriolet and another one bathed in the iconic Warsteiner livery also turned heads, which included ours at the same time.
Although there weren’t much Alfa Romeos around, the sole representative of the Italian brand was more than enough as this red Giulia is just a total beauty!
Going deeper into the event, the aircooled bunch loves to huddle together and form a nice little VW gathering. Like the Porsche 911, the design of today’s VW Beetle can easily be traced back to its ancestors, changing just the necessary stuffs but maintaining its overall looks.
Yet another aircooled beauty from VW is the Karmann Ghia. Although it last saw production back in 1974, it has yet to lose its wonderful flair and would likely to maintain it for times to come.
Art of Speed is also the place where you could find some rare gems in the form of American muscles hiding throughout the year, waiting for the perfect timing to come out from hibernation. Their massive engines might be one of the contributing factors why we are not seeing much of them over here, but it did not seem to have fazed these guys in owning these muscles!
Did you have any idea that we have a Mustang Mach 1 here in Malaysia…
…or even a Camaro SS?
This Holden GTS might not be from the US, but that shiny big V8 residing under the hood certainly makes qualifies them as one. Or should we call it an Australian muscle?
Of course, it is the Japanese that had dominated the event with its sheer number, and not to forget a sheer mix of creativity as well. The overall theme that surrounds the atmosphere might be more into retro stuffs, but this yellow Mazda RX7 FC3S with the street prowler look really caught the attention of the visitors all day long!
A predecessor to the RX7, this Mazda 808 made to look like the RX3 was also a great addition into the show.
If it is not for Art of Speed, we would not have known that we have quite a population of Skyline C210s in our shores!
After Kean Yap’s Hakotora got the attention of both local and international media, more and more of this Datsun pickup truck started popping up.
But if your taste is something out of the ordinary, there is always room for that in Art of Speed. Take example of this Volvo Amazon; ditching the conventional grille for a line of teeth and leaving the rusts as it is instead of coating it in a glossy paint job, it could easily be one of the most unique car in the event. Or is it?
A tough contender for this Amazon is definitely this rusty rat rod. As something that one will find in the American auto culture, we would say that whoever did this had done quite a decent job in building it. Could any of you guess what model the car was it originally?
It was not only the four-wheeled machines that took the spotlight as our motorized two-wheeled siblings also came down in full force. We might not be that well-versed in the world of motorcycles, but that is no excuse to not appreciate the creativity and craftsmanship involved in building these masterpieces!
From Harleys to Hondas, the bike stand over at Art of Speed did not fail to attract the visitors throughout the two-day period. It is pretty obvious as you do not get to see bikes like this cruising on our roads that often!
But it is not only about cars or bikes that pulls people to Art of Speed. With the tagline of “Celebrating Art in Automotive Culture”, one could also expect a different chapter of the automotive scene other than the usual ones we see at Sepang.
We particularly enjoy admiring this guy with his ultra-steady hands doing a live demo of pinstriping. Although it may look like a piece of cake, you got to be calm as a monk and have a great attention to detail to get it done right!
Live music has always been an integral part of Art of Speed, keeping the atmosphere lively throughout the event.
Last but not least, Malaysia has recently been blessed with Nakai-san’s presence and building two RWB Porsches on our shores.
Although it was located a bit deeper into the mall area, the second RWB christened as ‘Furinkazan’ made an exclusive appearance and had garnered a non-stop stream of admirers.
It seems like Asep and his crew had done a terrific job in pulling off Art of Speed for three years in a row, and we cannot wait to see what he has in store for the 2015 edition. In short, we would say that Art of Speed 2014 is a great success and we would definitely be there for the next one!
