I am a Car Nut - KL's hidden treasures

If someone asks me, “What can you find in KL?”, surely I will pull out the usual string of answers that basically describes KL; the sky-scraping Twin Towers (or Menara Jagung as some like to call them), Menara KL, the tourist-packed Bukit Bintang, Plaza Lowyat a.k.a. IT heaven, Mid Valley, Times Square, and some other malls or attractions that might appeal the usual kaki jalan.

But with being a car nut, things become a little different. Since this is the country’s capital, most of the richies and VIPs live/wander around here. And having a lot of money (I mean a LOT) pretty much doesn’t fit if you’re not riding in style, and that’s why you’ll see them cruising the streets of KL in super-cool, uber-styled supercars. And when a car nut (especially a young one like me) caught even a glimpse of that million-Ringgit ride, we become a bit excited, and totally distracted.

No, not his one, silly. Just couldn't stop another habit of mine; panning shots.

These barely-legal road monsters don’t seem fit on roaming the public roads, having to restrain the massive power that inhabits the engine. Imagine having hundreds of horsepower at the disposal of your right foot, ready to unleash a serious amount of torque and noise, which could be turned into a sudden surge of astounding acceleration and speed. But of course, when these machines could do 0-100km/h in less than 4 seconds, doesn’t mean that it has to do that all the time. They could also serve as a symbol of success, status or wealth of an individual.

Like this 911 for example, could also serve as a good daily car to ferry the owner anywhere in the city. Good ground clearance, not too wide and the ride is not bone-shattering. But a closer look reveals that this is no normal 911. This one is in fact is the turbo version, housing a straight six at the rear that churns out 473bhp. Dare to mess with this one on the freeways?

Call it squashed beetle? Wait until you meet 'em at the tracks and see who's squashed.

The magical word. Even the words itself contributes to 100hp already.

But a definite contender for this 911 is no other than its new enemy, the mighty Nissan GT-R. Built with a very specific purpose which is to outperform the 911 in every way, this Datsun is no force to be reckoned with. Although it only has a V6 inside, it is assisted with two turbos, generating 480bhp from the 3.8l engine.

Would you prefer Yin....

...or Yang?

Worry not, the all have the same turbocharged 3.8l reactor...

...that'll make you go zoom-zoom! (Isn't that Mazda's tagline?)

Besides of those straight six and V6, there were also wide arrays of other Vs that are much larger than them. Like this Ferrari F430 with a V8 in it, with a pretty unique shade of blue rather than the usual Ferrari red, a quite refreshing paintjob I might say. 

A blue Ferrari doesn't look that bad after all!

But if you fancy German engineering, there’s always the Audi R8, also with a V8 power plant. Although not famed as a supercar maker, Audi had successfully produced something that had breached the supercar borders, making it no longer a name that should be made fun of.

If this layout is called a Stormtrooper...

...would that make this one a Darth Vader?

R8s always looks cool with is fairy lights turned on.

Want the numbers to go higher? This lightweight Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera houses a non-compromising V10 mounted in the middle of this great machine. With almost 70kg off after a serious diet and an increase of 10bhp, messing with this bull is not recommended. 

The lonely Lambo patiently awaits its owner for another gallop...

Or if a V10 is still not enough for you, there is always a V12 wanting to step in, like this handsomely-built Aston Martin DB9, which in my terms, is the most “gentleman” car out there. With an executive and grown-up look, the DB9 is by far, the most grown-up car there is. 

Packed with power but without the excessive flashiness, no wonder Bond picked the Aston. Imagine him rollin' in a SV...

No flamboyancy or look-at-my-massive-intakes here, it’s all style and elegance; front to back, inside and outside.

Pure elegance!

But in terms of power, the 6.0l V12 in the DB9 doesn’t really churn out that much power, 469hp to be exact. There was another one in KL that day, which crunches more numbers from its front-mounted, massive V12.

I really did not expect to bump into it, but there it was. A front-mounted V12 engine with giant ceramic brakes fitted, the 661hp Ferrari 599 GTO! 

From what I heard, there were about only 4 units here in Malaysia, so spotting this babe is really hard! And not to forget, this one is owned by the Royal family of Johor, so what are the odds of bumping into them at KL? Very low! 

I don't care whether that diffuser is built with a purpose or not, it just looks mean!

I gotta say, the first moment I laid my eyes on it, I just froze (would have drool if I didn’t shut my mouth) in astonishment, admiring its beauty. It was a few minutes after that, then I started immortalizing the memories into JPEG form.

The Royal family of Johor does have some pretty sweet rides! But don't have any fancy ideas of stealing it, or else...

...you will not only be pursued by the Royal Malaysia Police's Lancer Evolution X...

...but also by their personal bodyguard's Jaguar XKR!

Coincidentally, a few blocks from the GTO, the original form of it sits passively yet looking pretty much stunning like the GTO, the 599 GTB.  

Compared to the GTO, the GTB looks a bit "tamer".

With hardly much difference among those two, only a trained eye could tell which is which. Minus the obvious “GTO” or Gran Touring Omologato badge, one could distinguish them by their brakes (ceramic for the GTO), different front grills, and some other finer details that I don’t even know of.

Any Ferrari expert care to commentate on the difference between the GTO and the GTB?

And I don’t know on what kind of lucky streak that I’m in, but the last catch of that day was really something. Before you start guessing, no, it’s not the Veyron or the Aventador; very sorry about that. It’s just an F430 Scuderia. But not any normal Scud, it’s modified by a tuning company and had jumped the output from 510hp to a whopping 747hp! And to add things better, there are only 3 units of such worldwide! I finish up this blog post by presenting to you the Novitec Rosso F430 Scuderia 747.

Assisted by two superchargers, don't make a mistake by challenging this 747. 0-100 in 3.4 seconds, and push it long enough, you'll be reaching the ceiling of 351km/h in no time.