Hong Kong, there be car-pawn here...
Discussion
v15ben said:
Took a bit of finding, but here is my original thread from 2006.
My photos aren't quite as good as yours.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
That's really great! You really capture the feeling of being out there in LK. Good to see photos of it back then too! It was a lot crazier then in terms of what showed up. There's so much stuff now but it's diluted. It reminded me of the time when two F50s and three white/red 996 GT3 RS' followed by a 993 Turbo came past me in an out of town village in tandem heading in that direction at about 6am. I think it was just after the GT3 RS had been released. At that time I wasn't mad into photography and didn't have a camera. I don't think I even knew that the Sunday morning madness happened then too. The sight was unreal, I couldn't believe my eyes and ears seeing those cars in that setting. I've since met the owner of an F50 who used to do the LK blast and he had some good stories about driving it and getting in a spot of bother, but the years in HK have taken their toll and I don't remember what the stories were so well ... anyway, I wonder if it was the guy/car that you shot.My photos aren't quite as good as yours.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
v15ben said:
It definitely sounds like the same guy with the F50.
There was something very surreal about seeing those cars in a location like Luk Keng on a quiet Sunday morning.
Also enjoyed car spotting in Central with Daryl on my last visit to HK too
Yeah, surreal is the word!There was something very surreal about seeing those cars in a location like Luk Keng on a quiet Sunday morning.
Also enjoyed car spotting in Central with Daryl on my last visit to HK too
Here are some more (this time generally themed) images to look at over your morning coffees...
Let me know if anything in particular you'd like to see and I can delve into the crates!
Obi Wan said:
I love that decaled R34 GTR it looks like something out of Gran Turismo.
Yeah, it's a good look! But, it's actually just a GT-T which is sort of disguised by the decals.GroundZero said:
I was in Hong Kong prior to the protests last year and spent an amount of time on one of the bridges watching the traffic pass by near "Central" metro station.
It was fantastic to hear and see so many individual, special and exotic cars pass by. Its shows a level of freedom and success that the city and its people have, which is something I admire about the place.
(I know there is an issue with wealth distribution but with so much success I am sure 'the city' will have lifted everyone up to some degree with it).
I largely agree! Also, if you go to the less well off areas you'll also get the same amount of automotive passion but with a different kind of car culture, which actually happens to be my preference. It was fantastic to hear and see so many individual, special and exotic cars pass by. Its shows a level of freedom and success that the city and its people have, which is something I admire about the place.
(I know there is an issue with wealth distribution but with so much success I am sure 'the city' will have lifted everyone up to some degree with it).
Edited by rupro on Thursday 16th April 09:49
watchnut said:
I was fortunate to live in HK in the late 70's as a kid, my dad had a VW, he was drunk and ran into the back of a coach full of tourists......they all got out and took photo's of our car as we all piled out (about 6 of us and a black labrador My dad and his mate pulled the metal off the wheels and smashed it about a bit so the car could run, driver of bus happy to leave it, and off we drove, we had the car for about another 6 months, he then sold it to another soldier for the price of the tyres
In those days there was no MOT type test, and I still believe drink driving is not a problem in HK?
The poshest cars then were the "taxi's" for the Peninsular Hotel....they had about 12 of them.
A friend of my dads had a merc sl which was as cool as you like then as he used to pick me up from the Star ferry, and run over the top of the Island to the Repulse Bay road where we used to row at "Middle Island" that drive was brilliant fun
The chinese like to show off their wealth with cars/watches/designer clothes....and number plates....any with an "8" in it used to be worth more, on looking at the excellent photo's I am surprised not to see more....
Before the fumes got so bad it was fun driving in the cross harbour tunnel listening to "loud" cars
Is there a big Motorbike" scene there as well now?
Great photo's
Drinking and driving had a long overdue major crackdown a few years ago fortunately!In those days there was no MOT type test, and I still believe drink driving is not a problem in HK?
The poshest cars then were the "taxi's" for the Peninsular Hotel....they had about 12 of them.
A friend of my dads had a merc sl which was as cool as you like then as he used to pick me up from the Star ferry, and run over the top of the Island to the Repulse Bay road where we used to row at "Middle Island" that drive was brilliant fun
The chinese like to show off their wealth with cars/watches/designer clothes....and number plates....any with an "8" in it used to be worth more, on looking at the excellent photo's I am surprised not to see more....
Before the fumes got so bad it was fun driving in the cross harbour tunnel listening to "loud" cars
Is there a big Motorbike" scene there as well now?
Great photo's
Still a lot of 'lucky number' plates, but since they introduced the personal plate scheme a few years back it seems people tend to go for them, for better or worse.
Yes the motorbike scene is big and getting increasingly larger. In fact my colleague and I recently started a website specifically for bikes www.gaining-traction.com and www.instagram.com/gaining.traction
GroundZero said:
Rupert, (or indeed anyone familiar with the city), could I ask if there are tourist boat rides that go beyond the harbour and venture around the islands around Hong Kong?
I enquired at the TurboJet terminal about this last year but they said all they were able to tell me was about the Victoria harbour tour (which we did) and also the regular schedule over to Macau and back. (Where we took the bridge instead)
They said that an island tour would "take too long", but guessing they may have just not wanted to mention their 'competition' , if it exists that is.
Hi there! Yeah, you can simply get on the outlying island passenger ferries and visit them at basically any time of day; Lamma, Peng Chau, Grass Island, Cheung Chau, Mui Wo are all no more than an hour away on ferries and costs peanuts. None of these go along the harbour so to speak but you can easily got on the cross harbour ferries; Central/Wanchai to TST or North Point to Kowloon City or Kwun Tong and essentially achieve a similar effect. I go on them most days a week. I think public transport is easily the best way to see HK, especially the bus, trams and ferries. It's clean, efficient and cheap and you can get on and off anywhere you want.I enquired at the TurboJet terminal about this last year but they said all they were able to tell me was about the Victoria harbour tour (which we did) and also the regular schedule over to Macau and back. (Where we took the bridge instead)
They said that an island tour would "take too long", but guessing they may have just not wanted to mention their 'competition' , if it exists that is.
andrew said:
try one of the helicopter rides
That'd be HK to Macau and I guess you can charter them through Heliservices too? Heliservices being owned by HK Petrolhead numero uno Sir Michael Kadoorie.Bas1959 said:
Some crazy metal in those car parking spaces, but a ballache to get into even if you're there on official business.
watchnut said:
Couldn't agree more with taking a ferry to out lying islands....the old way of getting around, but now with "aircon"
Taking the tram from "Central" to "Happy Valley" and "Western" costs pennies on the top deck is one of my favourite things to do when I get the chance to go back to "Honkers"
Another question for "OP"
Have the chinese stopped spitting so much now? (current world events an all)
It still happens with the older generation, but then again I've seen it pretty much every city I've been to around the world to some extent or another, which is pretty grim.Taking the tram from "Central" to "Happy Valley" and "Western" costs pennies on the top deck is one of my favourite things to do when I get the chance to go back to "Honkers"
Another question for "OP"
Have the chinese stopped spitting so much now? (current world events an all)
Now for something a bit different. I had a bit of spare time yesterday evening from work and decided to create something a bit fun and tongue-in-cheek for those petrolhead parents who are at home with kids, looking for things to do when the novelty of school homework wears off. A set of A-Z vocabulary flashcards using photos we've taken of cars around HK. Just a bit of fun and a shameless plug for our website, whilst we've got people captive! :P Feel free to download and print them from the link below:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pRiuA2Vtvyz2KC_6...
You can share the link with mates who are looking to teach their kids something proper if you want!
Edited by rupro on Friday 17th April 22:22
Gameface said:
That red Pista is the nicest I've seen. I'd have kept the rear spoiler red though.
Yeah, this Piloti looks pretty good. Perhaps Ferrari could have done with leaving off the WEC/number stickers, etc. Re the spoiler, I think this is the standard finish on this Piloti version.https://uk.motor1.com/news/249264/488-pista-piloti...
Edited by rupro on Sunday 19th April 12:57
fido said:
Reminds me of my trips to Sai Kung way north-east of the City. En route to the ferry terminal there were some tasty modified cars parked around the coastal villages - you don't really see or notice them in town.
Haha that's where I have lived for coming up for 16 years. The villages are littered with modified cars as you say. Heaps of modded cars in Kowloon especially in the 
Kok area in recent months where it has become less pedestrianised. Plod is getting increasingly sever on mods though, but it doesn't seem to deter many as you can see.Edit: Apparently I couldn't type M-o-n-g Kok, which seems a bit silly considering it's a place. Lucky I wasn't referring to S
horpe.Edited by rupro on Sunday 19th April 14:27
Ingots said:
I like the Ferrari 360, but are those stretched tyres?
Yeah, it's quite 'not-stock' ... I will find some other photos.fido said:
I have read this thread before and did sort of hazard a guess you were round there. I did a few trips there and it was very unexpected to see tinkered and cared for cars. My last trip ended badly as I was invited to someone's fancy yacht for some night-time fishing and ended up being massively sick. All along the side of their boat. I still talk about my trips to the homies here in London .. 'you weren't there man'.
Mate, you are now an honorary member of the Hong Kong Vomit Story Club! We are a proud people.Bas1959 said:
I'd love a really good sniff around all the car parks in HK. I have found some absolutely mental stuff during my time snooping around them, sometimes in the most unexpected places, but they're mostly the car parks in commercial buildings. The stuff hiding away in residential areas will be jaw dropping. Once all this is over I might throw caution to the wind and try and get into a few more for some pics.
rupro said:
I'd love a really good sniff around all the car parks in HK. I have found some absolutely mental stuff during my time snooping around them, sometimes in the most unexpected places, but they're mostly the car parks in commercial buildings. The stuff hiding away in residential areas will be jaw dropping. Once all this is over I might throw caution to the wind and try and get into a few more for some pics when I am delivering photos to people.
watchnut said:
Back when we lived in HK in the late 70's as a kid, Kok (walled city area) was a no go area owing to the triads/crime...times change then A decent car down that way would have "gone"
Where are the latest batch of photo's taken? Which road? looks like HK island going towards Repulse Bay...but, last time I was there it was 87 before they kicked us out (I was fortunate enough to be in Marines there stationed at HMS Tamar, had a room on the corner of building looking out over to Kowloon and causeway bay....very happy days...what a run ashore...
Would have loved the opportunity to have shot in HK then. Must have been unreal. My first trip there was 1996 for a month in exactly the Walled City area just before the runway. That's when I became hooked on Japanese cars, as my pals were into the street racing scene there then. It was Supras, GT-Rs, Cefiros, Civics, etc. aplenty. The latest round are from the road to Shek O. Kok (walled city area) was a no go area owing to the triads/crime...times change then A decent car down that way would have "gone"Where are the latest batch of photo's taken? Which road? looks like HK island going towards Repulse Bay...but, last time I was there it was 87 before they kicked us out
(I was fortunate enough to be in Marines there stationed at HMS Tamar, had a room on the corner of building looking out over to Kowloon and causeway bay....very happy days...what a run ashore... thelostboy said:
Some amazing photos. Would love to know what kit you use!
Have to say, the more I look at your photos, the more I scroll past the new stuff and look at the modern classics.
Cheers! Mostly shot on Canon 1DXs with the usual L glass. Can go through the typical shoot kit if you'd like to know more. The cars on road stuff is really a hobby and for the bread and butter it's a lot of corporate/event, motorsport, architectural stuff - anything, really, so we are covered equipment wise Have to say, the more I look at your photos, the more I scroll past the new stuff and look at the modern classics.
And yes, I fee exactly the same regarding new vs neo-classic stuff. Couldn't agree more!
Zener said:
WOW some rare metal on this thread .... outstanding pics 
Much appreciated!Edited by rupro on Monday 20th April 12:27
Edited by rupro on Monday 20th April 12:28
emix said:
Wow what a thread! Thank you so much for posting these pictures, such amazing photography but above all else what a diversity of cars, proper petrolhead stuff.
I'd like to add a little tidbit of information. You posted a Macau registered orange Lamborghini Diablo. That car was the pride and enjoy of the notorious Macau gangster Broken Tooth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wan_Kuok-koi
I saw an orange Diablo in Hong Kong with a HK plates about 5-6 years ago and assumed it was the same car as that period Diablo in orange is extremely rare. The orange color only became part of the standard palette with the release of the 6.0. As far as I can tell it was the same car, but the Macau one was for sure a special SE30, while the one I saw in HK I only caught a very short glimpse of it and couldn't tell if it was a SE30.
The orange SE30 in Macao was the only one in the world in that color. Do you know if it's the same car that now wears HK plates or are there two pre Audi orange Diablos running around HK and Macao?
Thanks again! I can't wait to get back to HK, I miss it dearly.
Thanks! Very interesting info about the Diablo. I took that photo quite a few years ago out the back of a taxi. Macau looked a lot different then. I believe the only orange Diablo we've seen in HK has the plate FN2183. I expect it's the same one but if so, the wheels have since been changed:I'd like to add a little tidbit of information. You posted a Macau registered orange Lamborghini Diablo. That car was the pride and enjoy of the notorious Macau gangster Broken Tooth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wan_Kuok-koi
I saw an orange Diablo in Hong Kong with a HK plates about 5-6 years ago and assumed it was the same car as that period Diablo in orange is extremely rare. The orange color only became part of the standard palette with the release of the 6.0. As far as I can tell it was the same car, but the Macau one was for sure a special SE30, while the one I saw in HK I only caught a very short glimpse of it and couldn't tell if it was a SE30.
The orange SE30 in Macao was the only one in the world in that color. Do you know if it's the same car that now wears HK plates or are there two pre Audi orange Diablos running around HK and Macao?
Thanks again! I can't wait to get back to HK, I miss it dearly.
Edited by emix on Monday 20th April 15:00
Taken in Macau about 8-9 years ago:
Macau
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cckkenny/4595292308/
Taken in HK about 6 years ago
HK
http://www.exoticspotter.com/lamborghini-diablo-ho...
GroundZero said:
I've only been to HK twice, but with such fantastic photos and the abundance of fantastic cars I really want to go back and head out and about on the roads to spot some for myself.
Keep up the good work Rupo !
Cheers! Yeah, there's some corkers in HK for sure. Something for everyone!Keep up the good work Rupo !
emix said:
It is for sure the same car. Wheels were likely changed with SV wheels because the original SE30 wheels were magnesium. Afaik they are near impossible to repair if they are damaged and were extremely expensive to replace. The owner likely bought the SV wheels because those were both available and cheaper.
It remains the only factory original SE30 in orange, though.
Cheers for that! It remains the only factory original SE30 in orange, though.
Edited by emix on Monday 20th April 20:42
emix said:
Any pictures updates for this most wonderful of threads?
Season's greetings! Yes, certainly can do. How about a few Christmas bumper posts for Xmas Eve, Xmas Day and Boxing Day? Anything in particular you're keen to see?nsa said:
anxious_ant said:
Lovely
Owning such cars aint cheap in HK, the parking itself could cost tens of thousands of pounds a year.
£1-6k. I pay £4,500 to park in my building, and another £1,200 to store a car in the New Territories.[/quoteOwning such cars aint cheap in HK, the parking itself could cost tens of thousands of pounds a year.
Beautiful NSX in your profile. Is that yours? Great to see them frequently on our roads these days. Absolutely love them.
Edited by rupro on Wednesday 23 December 21:52
CallThatMusic said:
Nice! Love the 993 GT2 RS. Supposing it is a real one, I wonder how many RHD GT2 live in HK. I have seen at least 3 authentic ones and that is the first time I believe I've seen the red one. Didn't Porsche only build a dozen or so in RHD?
OK, so here is a random assortment of what we feel are some of the most Pistonheady cars from back in April-May when one of us was stuck in Lockdown in the UK and the other was still in HK shooting the action. Enjoy!
Who killed Kermit?
Zenos E10 (are we right in thinking Zenos owned by a HK group)
All mod cons
Brute force
Seriously, BMW ... what happened to you?
Nissan Pao
Running in the 90s
Purple people eater
Perfection
Late model FD3S
Loads of modified S2Ks around these days
A real rarity out here
Horse for courses
Do BBS look bad on anything?
Weapons-grade WRX TS
One for the Ones That Got Away file
Fruity!
Definitely aged well these
Gruntage
No words.
Weissach Scaffolding Co.
Classic colour
Should have bought when cheap ...
Over jump
NSXy - there are so many of these around HK now - and we are not complaining!
You sunk my battleship!
Forced multiplier
Ace in the pack
Japanese muscle
Looks can be deceiving
Pocket rocket
Timeless
For those that know
NAs have a big following here now
Pure
Street brawler
Facelift
Rumble in the jungle
Hiya!
Could eat your dinner off this
All aboard the Gravel Express!
Honda Today Humming
Midship Runabout
Wonder if Jonny Smith reads these?
Iconic
Woof woof!
HK has plenty of Elises/Exiges per square KM
Did you know 'Mugen' translates as 'No limit' from Japanese to English?
S203
Vroom
Barging on a Sunday in a twin-turboed Vertex
Just too cool
Interesting throwback stone chip guard
RR - So many of these limited beasts ended up in HK
One for Hoovie
- roadpresence
If it's good enough for Senna ...
Actual car as mentioned on 'Behind the Glass' podcast recently
Well, we hope you enjoyed that little selection. Will post more in coming days!
Thanks for the kind comments! Merry Christmas, everyone!
Here are some more images from the middle part of 2020. I typed a few words for each image, and then in an inspired move, accidentally closed the tab ... So, sorry it's just the images this time. Enjoy!
More soon
heisthegaffer said:
Fascinating post. A really nice mix of classics and modern.
Lovely alfas and lovely jap stuff. Good to see a fair bit of euro over there.
Why no American cars I wonder?
Mainly because LHD cars are not able to be registered, so they'd have to be driven on limited-use permits, so there are a few but not many. Also, lack of road and parking space plus sky-high fuel prices, and limited knowledge of mechanics to work on them here don't help. Lovely alfas and lovely jap stuff. Good to see a fair bit of euro over there.
Why no American cars I wonder?
epom said:
Expecting a lot of Yaris GR content here in the new year.
We are expecting there to be looooads. Have photographed one already (the first in HK): https://www.instagram.com/p/CImSmTqHQka/?utm_sourc...Here are some more images from the middle part of 2020. I typed a few words for each image, and then in an inspired move, accidentally closed the tab ... So, sorry it's just the images this time. Enjoy!
More soon
Edited by rupro on Saturday 26th December 10:16
Edited by rupro on Saturday 26th December 10:20
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