7th July 2014

Bentley Flying Spur – Kuching

Bentleys are popular in little towns like Kuching here. I guess they are more manageable and also a better car to drive especially in Kuching with bumpy roads and a lot of potholes.

It has been a couple of months in Kuching I spotted this new white Bentley Flying Spur in town. Usually I would pick dark ocean blue or even candy apple red for these kind of Bentleys but to my amazement it looks pretty good white.

Personally, I am more of a Rolls Royce fan but a Bentley is without doubt still one of those luxury prestige cars you would love to just drive around in town at the same time draw some eyes to you yourself.

Next update: Mercedes CLA45 AMG.

24th June 2014

Porsche Panamera

So today, Tuesday, it is an unexpectedly lucky day. A good friend of mine who has returned from Melbourne for a short break called me during breakfast, if you have read the previous post on the Panamera he was the one who owned the white Panamera which we got busted by a speed camera. It was very kind of him to drive me yet again in his Panamera while we were hanging out and catching up.

This time I paid closer attention to the way the car performs.  I am not sure what model this one is but it is a naturally aspirated (I believe it is a V6). Even though I have gone faster before this car’s acceleration really stuns me due to the fact that it is a really big and heavy car, I will admit I was trying to hold my bladder each time my friend floors the gas, the excitement does physically draw things out. Most of the Panameras I know in Kuching are pretty quiet even if they accelerate fast but in this Panamera my friend got the sports exhaust. Bless him! I mean what is the point of a fast car when you don’t have the noise.

The guess the only thing I am still not used to is the number of buttons on the center console, having so many buttons makes it feel like as though we are an actual speed rocket which probably what Porsche was trying to make us think it is. On the good side the buttons are not messily placed about and they are easy to press and despite being rather sophisticated it does look to impress. It is elegant and very posh.

It was fun; the only sad thing was the traffic and the fear of speed cameras which slows us down. Hopefully one day I could get the chance to test drive a Panamera. I’ll be sure to bring up a review on that.

Thowback – 2013 Porsche

Porsche Panamera Turbo

In Kuching, one of the most popular luxury fast cars is the Porsche Panamera. I can say I can spot at least one Panamera without fail in a week. Most of them are brown and personally I find that to be of an odd color for a sporty fast car. I was fortunate enough to get into the Panamera twice. One was last time when my friend took me for a spin in his white Panamera and it what really stunned me was for a considerably big car it can really fly! I mean we hit around 170kmph in just seconds. I know there are supercars that can do way faster but what an incredible acceleration for a big car with quite a big boot, four seats, a big engine and a roomy cockpit. I was at one point “OH MY GOD!” and holding tight in my seat with adrenaline rush when my friend was accelerating hard and manually shifting the smooth dual-clutch gears. That was indeed fun and that fun ended up with a speeding ticket. I guess we were going so fast that we didn’t spot the police behind the bush with the annoying speed camera with a 70kmph limit on a nice stretch. The stock Panamera is said to be very quiet even though it has a big powerful engine but my friend nailed that problem thanks to a custom exhaustand so that is a good thing.

The second time where I got to actually have a detailed look was last year around August where I was having a barbeque party at my friends house and her Dad happened to own another Panamera, which is another brown. So my friend was kind enough to lend me the keys to have a look and take some photos of the big but immensely fast German car. When I first saw it on the Internet the pictures and the prints the car looks really low and sleek, it looks amazing, however when I got to actually meet it face to face it is actually big and quite bulky. If I’m honest it is not one of the best looking four door cars since Porsche announced this car is designed to be like the 911s. The front looks fine but the back somehow looks very round like the end of a loaf of a French loaf. I mean there are many other cars that you can buy that looks better, sportier and even more elegant than this car for example like what they showed in Top Gear of the Aston Martin Rapide and the beautiful Maserati Quattropotte.

However, the Panamera is overall cheaper and in my case less expensive than the Aston Martin and the Maserati. It is also proven faster and more powerful than the two. The main thing I like about the Panamera is that it is actually a proper Porsche which when you first look at the design of the exterior it has the distinguish Porsche looks. Inside, it is very well made and sophisticated. It is easy to access in or out of the car; you just have to mind your head especially the back doors because of the curve structure. I guess the main problem I was not used to when I was sitting on the front seats were the numerous buttons on the center console. For any normal car we have the air conditioning, radio and some safety feature buttons which are friendly and distinguish to operate, but the Porsche I did get quite a few question marks in my head what some of the buttons do. I guess if you are going to own one do read the manual first before driving it.

Overall, the Panamera is a good everyday car if you’re the one who loves driving fast and if you would like some room to move about. As a plus, this car has a big boot so it means if you are the shopping type you can plenty of space to put your shopping bags or your groceries. It’s around 15 cubic feet of space there! On normal mode, the Porsche really is comfortable thanks to the adaptive suspensions. Hopefully the next time when I do get to test a Panamera I’ll definitely post something about it.

P.S. Please stay tuned as I have a surprise mostly about supercars this coming two months. I’ll try post them as soon as possible. Cheers and Happy Saturday!

Throwback – Sunday, 30 June 2013

Hills Mall Supercar Show, Kuching 2013

There are many memorable moments in my car-obsess life especially the car shows. I love car shows. The big noisy & excited crowds from the young to old, the beautiful models, the photographers and most importantly are the supercars filled brutal noises and plenty of horsepower. I was in my exam week with the last paper coming up in a few days so I decided to just take the afternoon off to de-stress myself and really was it worth it. 

Car shows are the perfect time to just feast your eyes upon these amazing cars and meet & talk to friends or even strangers all about cars. The one thing I love most about car enthusiast meeting another car enthusiast is it establishes relationships rather quickly. It is like conversing in another language and it is just all about the interest the two parties share in common.

Kuching is a pretty small city so to have a supercar here is quite rare and also hard because there are no official supercar showrooms and it is not easy to find maintenance for these expensive machines and because the import tax are high. Kuching unlike the capital city, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore is not your typical place to look for supercars even though the number has been climbing a lot the past few years.

During that car show, two new supercars joined the Kuching Supercar Owners Club fleet which were a Maserati Gran Turismo and the brand new Aston Martin Vanquish.

I guess the highlight of the show were the Lamborghinis, it was just a large crowd trying to view around the car and taking pictures. It was unsurprising for the Lamborghinis to steal the show. We had the rare (and it was the first time I saw it) Verde Ithaca Aventador, the Arancio Atlas Aventador, the full black Murcielago and of course the Gallardo LP560.

Next in line, we had the WALD R35 GT-R, a blue Audi R8 V8, a yellow F430 Spider and a two-tone red/black Ferrari F430 coupe. Then we have a couple of cars like the Porsche Caymans, the Bentley Continental Supers and the Continental GT.

I only stayed until the middle of the event where the photo-taking session was taking place with the beautiful models posing next to the cars. It was nice to see Asha, a beautiful Kazakh who was studying the same subject with me in Swinburne, with the modelling team.

For me I really had a good time during that car show. The exciting atmosphere and the amazing cars put together. Yet again, it was not the full fleet of the Supercar Owners Club, some did not attend which was pity but either way it was nice to see these cars especially the Aventadors and the beautiful Aston Martin Vanquish. These two cars were the big boys with their massive V12 engines that caught my attention. The Aston the star for in eye, it is the latest car in the fleet and because the Aston Martin is up to now one of the most stunning supercars I have ever seen; it has such a beautiful design from the outside to the inside. It is a very good looking car, no second thought on that! I was really impressed too with stunning upholstery. Sure did I remember it took my breath away just to see the detail of this car.

Personally for me I really love car shows, it is a nice to time just concentrate on one’s hobby and it also acts as a motivation to work harder and smarter to be able to afford these cars. Maybe one day, who knows?

P.S. Thanks once again to the Kuching Supercar Owners Club for making this special occasion an awesome one.

Throwback – March 30, 2013

Kuching Supercars gathers at Swinburne University Sarawak Campus

As you might know I study at Swinburne Sarawak Campus here in my home town. Usually you don’t get much news of supercars rolling in for a show in Universities but the amazing fact was last March 2013 it actually happened right at my Uni.

The University was holding a carnival with games, dance performances & food. The Kuching Supercar Owners Club actually came to join the fun along to capture the eyes and bring the crowds of students, lecturers and staffs. I was a little disappointed all the supercars didn’t fully turn up. Usually there are more supers like the F430s, 458s, Audi R8, Ferrari 599s and Bentley Supersports. However, it was the first time I actually had a good detailed look around the arancio atlas Lamborghini Aventador. We also have the two Lamborghini Gallardos and a Ferrari F430 Spider. Then we have a couple of Porsches like the Cayman and Panamera and a Bentley Flying Spur.

I was there like 80% of the time in the Swinburne Carnival to admire, taking some pictures and talking to people about the cars even though it was a really hot there and I was sweating mad but looking and chatting with friends and strangers was a real joy so I didn’t care and the other 20% of the time is food and join some of the games.

I seriously hope they do this gathering at the University more often although disappointedly this year 2014 there wasn’t any supercar gathering during this year’s carnival. I pray the next coming carnivals the owners can bring these gorgeous cars. It’s nice to see loads of people crowding and just admiring cars even though not all of them are car fanatics. This event was definitely one of the most memorable of the Kuching supercar gatherings I have ever been although there were not many of them.

It’s late but big thanks to Swinburne Council and The Kuching Supercar Owners Club in making this wonderful event possible.

P.S. More to come on the Kuching Supercars Owners Club.

27th February 2012 - Rolls Royce Ghost

The Ultimate Ecstasy
10am. Pullman Hotel, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.

A warm, cloudy & wet weather. One White Ghost. A Rolls Royce Ghost as a matter of fact. Ready for a test drive. Kuching is a small town in the State of Sarawak in Malaysia. To have a Rolls Royce is not easy in Kuching for a couple of reasons - it does not have a large market unlike in West Malaysia where the capital city Kuala Lumpur (KL) is situated therefore is no official showroom and as well as certified people to maintain the car. However, a prestige property promoting and looking for buyers in Sarawak came and Rolls Royce KL was one of the sponsors. There they have brought along the Ghost for show and available for test drive. It was definitely the opportunity to look at the Rolls Royce in detail so my cousin, Alex, & I headed to Pullman & made arrangements to see the Ghost since personally I have been a Rolls Royce fan.

The Ghost is a less-big, easier to drive version of the famous, enormous Phantom...it is easier because of Kuching roads where at certain places the roads are small along with the traffic. This particular Ghost is a demo standard. Of course with the famous Rolls Royce Bespoke Program you will get more options like the colours, electronics, the optic star light roofing and much more. This particular Ghost maybe a standard but it still has all the posh luxury you would expect on a Rolls Royce. Outside, you get the very shiny polished white body what the people called a "piano finish", the famous back doors which are known as the carriage or suicide doors, you have the distinctive Pantheon front grill and one of the most iconic mascots in the world, the Spirit of Ecstasy, where it takes the form of a flying lady which has been beautiful crafted and cared for in great detail. Inside along with the beautiful upholstery, it is an extremely comfortable environment to be for a car thanks to the comfortable red top grade leather and the surrounding craftsmanship like the wood and stitchings.

The ride:
Under the bonnet lies a massive BMW 6.6 litre twin turbo V12 engine producing 562 horsepower, which is about the same power you get from a Ferrari 458. But being different from the Ferrari, this car is so quiet and civilised, hearing the engine the only time is when the car is accelerating hard in a smooth, quiet yet effortlessly in a powerful manner. Even with the twin turbo you do not feel the turbo lag.  Driving this car around especially because it is rare in Kuching does catch quite a lot of attention. At the traffic lights, we do get a lot of eyes following the car which was quite interesting since I was my first time going around town in a Rolls Royce. Like the Phantom it is an elegant, sophisticated and well designed machine in a sportier & younger way. At the corners, the driver turns hard and the only thing we can feel is hearing a great deal of wheel spins and we are well seated in our comfortable seats & "not flying" to the other side of the car thanks to the weight of this car which is about two & a half tons and the clever suspension which stabilises the car to prevent the passengers from  moving about. In Kuching, there are potholes and patches which in a normal car makes it quite uncomfortable, but for this magnificent car it has no problems with the roads' elements for torture.

It is a car of great beauty. I love this car although I am a much bigger fan of the Rolls Royce Phantom especially the Drophead Coupe. The Phantom is one of my dream cars, it's massive, it 's beautiful & it's elegant to the extend you will feel proud to park this beautiful king in front of the hotel or even a casino for people to admire.

This experience is obviously one I would never ever forget. These cars of course come with an obscene price tag, in Malaysia the starting price is around Rm2.2mil. This IS a dream car & one day if I can afford them the Rolls Royce is definitely one of those I would love to own