The debate on which is better, NA or Turbocharged can on go all day but there is one inescapable fact; these boosted machines can go really fast when the taps are open. Once the surge of boost kicks in, these turbo cars can really clock some impressive lap times around Sepang International Circuit as demonstrated by the contestants at the recent 2014 TIMETOATTACK Final Round.
And at the mention of turbo cars, the usual faces will surely appear on the circuit like the Mitsubishi Evolutions, Subaru WRXs and Mazda RX7. But what made this round pretty special is the appearance of a lone Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R finished in none other than that iconic shade of Bayside Blue. Driven by Mohd Azmil, the Godzilla did well in the Street Turbo 4WD category with a 2:42.865.
But its older brother proved that being older does not necessarily means slower. Ee Yoong Cherng took his Nissan Skyline BCNR33 for the attack around Sepang and came back with a 2:34.002, placing him third in the Street Turbo 4WD.
But the remaining two places go to none other than the mighty Evolutions. Eldred Goh and his Evolution IX secured the second spot on the podium with a 2:33.621 and as a tribute to the now-discontinued Evolution line, Kevin Lo grabbed the top spot in the class with a 2:30.761 in the Evolution X.
In the fiercer Super Street category, Allan Wong is closing in to the timings of the Time Attack Machines as he took his Evolution 6.5 RS around Sepang in 2:26.619. Coming in second place was Mohd Yusoff in an Evolution X with a 2:27.690 followed by Filbert Tan in the Evolution IX with a 2:28.662.
Down in the Street Turbo 2WD category, a couple of interesting builds also made an appearance with a competitive lap time being set as well. When we first saw this red Honda CR-Z, never in our wildest dream that there is a turbocharger boosting this hybrid to serious speeds. And Steven Lai had successfully proved that this CR-Z is no laughing stock with a timing of 2:43.371.
Usually seen going sideways, Leona Chin made an appearance in a Nissan Silvia S15 and did pretty well with a timing of 2:43.220.
The Silvia S13 is a very rare breed in Malaysia and we were lucky to have one pristine example taking part in TIMETOATTACK. Driven by Wan Mohd Zariff, he secured the third spot in the category with a 2:39.692.
While most Cefiro A31s are drafted into drifting duties like the Silvias, this one managed to sneak away into the realms of time attacking and proved itself to be a fast machine where Liew Park Loong managed to secure the 1st runner up in the category with a 2:39.692.
However in this sea of Japanese machines, it was quite surprising to have a sole Brit joining the game and grabbing the top spot. But Soo Hoo Yew Kwon and his well-prepped Lotus Exige S went above expectations and conquered the Street Turbo 2WD category with a timing of 2:36.392.