Just because you drive a Koenigsegg CCXR and a Lamborghini Murcielago SuperVeloce...

Qatari royal family's matching Koenigsegg CCXR and Lamborghini Murcielago SuperVeloce (Riviera Blue) got themselves clamped outside their new store (Harrods) on Brompton Rd (its a street in Knightsbridge, London).

The Swedish-built Koenigsegg CCXR puts out a staggering 1,018bhp – making it 20 times as powerful as a basic Ford Fiesta. With a price of around £1.5 million it’s also 180 times more expensive than the blue oval :).

At £350,000, the Lamborghini is a bit cheaper than the Koenigsegg but its matching Riviera Blue paintjob makes up for it :P.

FYI - The Qatari royal family bought Harrods from Mohamed Al Fayed in May for £1.5 billion under its company name Qatari Holding, becoming only the fifth owner of the store since its 1850 creation.

The funny thing is that the owners could have taken advantage of Harrods’ valet parking service which charges a £8 for the first hour or £40 for 8-9 hours with an additional £50 charge to store a car overnight. [Source: SWNS]

A buddy of mine just picked up his brand new Porsche Boxster Spyder

Another reason to go down to Melbourne sometime soon! If only cars here were as affordable!

Just picked up my copy of Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Been waiting 12 years for this and its finally here! Woo hoo!

For those who do not know what Starcraft is all about, watch this hilarious but somewhat accurate 5 minute video summary:

And the highlight of any Blizzard game are the cutscenes and trailers. This will definitely get your blood pumping :).

Just finished installing. And so it begins!

Alfa Romeo Centenary Drive featured in the New Straits Times

Featured in the 11/07/2010 edition of NST's motoring pull-out, CBT (Car.Bikes.Trucks). Its good see Italia Auto getting due recognition.

Well done guys.

Golf R Test Driver

Received this in the mail the other day - a large blue envelope with Volkswagen's .:R logo embossed on it. Unfortunately, its from my mailbox in Australia.

Ah well, if only Volkswagen Malaysia were carry out such promotions. Or maybe I'll fly down to Melbourne in a week or two.

Its essentially a letter from Volkswagen Australia, inviting former Golf R32 owners to ring up any VW dealership in their city for the Golf R experience. Enclosed with the letter is a Golf R lanyard, complete with a pass that has your name on it. I imagine the Golf R experience would be a personal viewing and a subsequent comprehensive test drive of the new R.

Hurry up and bring in the Golf R already, Volkswagen Malaysia! I'm thinking of dropping by one of their dealerships here and putting down a deposit.

Alfa Romeo Centennial Celebration Drive (Ulu Yam - Genting)

Today I took the Alfa out of the workshop to take part in the Centennial Celebration Drive organised by Italia Auto Club (IA) along with other Alfisti organisations. The route was from KL to Genting, via Ulu Yam and our support cars were Fiat Coupé 20V Turbos owned by IA forum members.

The weather wasn't perfect. It was raining the night before and there was a brief morning shower. The meet up point was Sime Darby's Autoconnexion Jalan Ipoh showroom. Needless to say, there was a big turn out of Alfas - nearly 70 cars altogether. There were some lovely examples of Italian engineering - like a really rare right hand drive 1964 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider 1600 - supposedly the only one in Southeast Asia.

We were flagged off and promptly got stuck in traffic near the roundabout after Batu Caves. It wasn't that bad after exiting that particular area and the old girl performed flawlessly on the way up. Here is a video of the cars being flagged off:

Granted, she wasn't the fastest car in the pack but I was pleasantly surprised that the GTV managed to keep up with the convoy and reach up to speeds of a hundred plus km/h on the sweeping straights of Ulu Yam. The Genting hill climb was a bit more challenging but she made it to the top. Not bad for a 1973 classic car!

Just after Awana and before Genting proper, there is a large parking lot where the Alfas gathered for a photoshoot. Since she was one of the few classics there, the GTV got front row seats :).


I didn't stay for the buffet lunch and headed back down to KL after a tiring but eventful day. Great job by the organisers of the event (special thanks goes out to IA Fiat Coupé members who made sure no one got lost).

I had an awesome time.

[Pictures courtesy of the IA gang of photographers]