Owning and constructing a automotive in Malaysia isn’t low-cost or easy, but despite those hurdles, the scene remains to be huge. For over 10 years now, Alie Kuoppa, Farah Darlings and their team behind Retro Havoc have done their bit by bringing Malaysia’s modified and custom automotive enthusiasts along with well-organized events.
In other countries, the notion of tens of hundreds of petrolheads congregating at a show could be seen as a possibility for police crackdowns, but not here. Retro Havoc has the complete support of the Malaysian government, which sees the events as opportunities to assist grow the local automotive industry and, from a tourism perspective, herald visitors from everywhere in the world. They usually come.
The 2024 event was once more held on the B2 level of The Curve’s underground carpark in Selangor. That is an excellent spot, with all of the room required for the automotive displays, plus parking for everybody and a shopping center above for any friends and relations who want some outing in the course of the show.
As all the time, a small outdoor showcase the evening before the most important event was used to officially kick off the festivities. The lineup included Retro Havoc’s brilliant pink Devil Z – now with a brand new RB25 powerplant – two Toyota Cressidas – one powered by a 1UZ-FE V8 and the opposite a Century V12 – a Pandem-kitted RX-8, a refreshed Tamon Design FC3S RX-7, and a BWW E36 M3 inspired by the Need for Speed Most Wanted hero automotive.
In planning the event, Alie decided to limit show automotive registrations to a lower number than lately. A 900-car cap was decided upon, but overwhelming demand saw the number quickly blow out. Not that anyone was complaining. It’s an excellent endorsement, and one which shows just how hyped the Malaysian automotive community is for this event.
But it surely’s not only Malaysians attending with their cars. Once more, a big contingent of enthusiasts made the trip from Thailand. Driving from Malaysia’s border to the Retro Havoc venue is over 700km (435mi) alone, and it will not be a simple journey at the perfect of times. So making the drive in highly modified cars prefer it’s nothing is just insane. Hat’s off to those Thai guys and girls for his or her commitment.
There have been loads of cars on the event deserving of a better look, and Toby has a number of follow-up stories planned to tick that box. The ‘Motor Maniac St’ section was full of wild builds, including a number based on locally-made Proton Satrias.
The red Satria is a heavily modified track weapon that may often be seen lapping Sepang International Circuit; the black Satria is one other track automotive, though still under construction.
Drifting is big in Malaysia, and there are plans afoot for a global event later within the 12 months, which can only increase its popularity on this a part of the world. I loved this LS V8-swapped S15 Nissan Silvia Varietta.
The Proton Saga is one other ultra-popular Malaysian automotive, 99.9% of which you’ll find in stock standard condition. These stance examples aren’t; how good do they appear?!
Before visiting Malaysia I had never even heard of the Mazda Lantis, often called the 323 and Astina in other markets. While other countries got the model with a 2.0L V6 option, Malaysia didn’t, so all of the cars here with V6 power under the hood have been engine swapped.
I’ve been lucky enough to attend Retro Havoc a couple of times now, and it’s all the time a wild ride – especially in the course of the ‘Roll Out Party’ at the top of the event. There’s a lot passion for automotive culture in Malaysia, and that’s reflected within the sheer size of this event.
While it will not be easy being a automotive enthusiast in Malaysia, so long as there are events like Retro Havoc around to entertain and encourage, the local scene has a brilliant future.
Stay tuned for a lot of more stories from the 2024 show. Within the meantime, there’s huge gallery below for you to examine out.
Rick Muda
Instagram: ardskellig
This Article First Appeared At www.speedhunters.com
