Hong Kong, there be car-pawn here...

[rupertprocter]

Some more pics, this time from an event this past weekend.

I'll just post a few and you can check the others on my Flickr page if something tickles your fancy. https://www.flickr.com/photos/136041538@N04/

[rupertprocter]

Hellooooo Pistonheads! And good morning to those in the UK!

I thought it was about time I pulled my grubby finger out of my throttle body and did some more posting for you good people, you know, before the world goes up in flames and that. I will be doing regular posts now, and most of these photos will be a culmination of the four photogs in our 'Black Cygnus Photography' team. I hope you continue to enjoy them! As before, apologies for the watermarks but we always use them when posting to Facebook etc.

Anyway. Onto the photos ...

These were all shot last Sunday morning and are a combination from a much bigger set of what I think you guys might find most interesting.

Peugeot 205 GTi
Definitive hot hatch?


Lotus Exige S1
There's so much right with these. Prices are heading North quick.


Honda Accord Euro R
Favourite with the road racers in HK


Mazda MX-5 (NA)
The NA continues to be popular. Maybe even more so than ever! Smiles per hour, as proved by this friendly fella at the wheel!


Alfa Romeo GTV
Nothing to say about Alfas that hasn't already been said. Timeless classic.


Bentley Continental GT
You don't often see these being driven hard, so I thought it had to be included here.


Honda S2000 CR (Would sell any part of my anatomy for those BBS')
Another cracking machine from Honda.


Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III
This old warrior has seen better days, but the patina is part of the appeal.



Ferrari 488 Spider
These have become pretty popular since release. Some serious trick aero on them to admire if they stay still long enough.


Toyota Celica
This is so cool! Owned by a guy that runs a wrap business here and does some funky liveries.


Honda NSX
Sublime perfection.


Honda Civic Type-R and Mugen RR
The policeman's favourite in Hong Kong. If you drive one of these expect to be stopped at most if not all road blocks. Revs and tickets for days!


Lamborghini Huracan Spyder
Noice!


Suzuki Alto Works
If any of you have been to Japan (and I highly recommend it), these little things are everywhere, but it's the first I have seen in Hong Kong. I think they are the mutt's nuts, but they will divide opinion. 660cc Turbo Nutter with the front end appeal of an old Escort Mexico - want!


Lotus Exige
Stormtrooper's daily driver.


Mercedes SL
Always loved these, always meant to buy one, will probably miss the boat and regret it. Chump change luxury. What a car! There was a group of 4-6, but muggins here only managed this shot with 3.


Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS
Soooooo Pistonheads ... See Scuderia description. Look up 'Perfection' in the dictionary. There's probably a pic of this.



Aston Martin Zagato
Only one in HK and gets very well used, you'll be pleased to hear.



Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS
See Scuderia description. Military grade missile.



Ferrari F430 Scuderia
Total weapon. There are loads of these in HK.


Porsche Speedster / Chesil Roadster
Is it? Isn't it? As confident as I am in identifying most Porsche variants, I can never quite tell with these. Chances are it's a Chesil, but in Hong Kong anything can happen ... Looks gorgeous either way!


Toyota Trueno Apex AE86
Solid gold icon.


Toyota Trueno Apex AE86
Another one? Why not ... Actually, there are so many of these in HK now.

[rupertprocter]

Otispunkmeyer said:

I did see this curiously coloured CLA 250 on a street in the middle of the markets in Kok

LRM_EXPORT_20161107_172008 by Alex Mason, on Flickr

I rather like the Matte Teal

Coincidentally, I passed this guy on my bike earlier he was coming out of the entrance road to a small village in the New Territories. Small world!

I didn't realise how long ago it was since my previous post before this AM. More than 18 months ago! So, I'll share some photos taken between then and now. I'll go by the highlights of each month, starting with January 2017, which should give you some steady content to look. Again, these photos rarely see the light of day outside of our HK FB page, so I hope you get some enjoyment out of them! These are the choice cars (the most Pistonheadiest) from all the photos we've taken...

Porsche 996 GT3 RS
Gotta love them! Some people were very savvy buying these when they were 'affordable'.


Nissan Skyline (R31) RS-Turbo
Love these and super-rare.


Porsche Cayman GT4
This was taken when the GT4 first came out, much to the delighted of all the people who had them on order. Since then, there are many around.


Zenos E10
Didn't really catch on, but have seen a couple and they look good and fun.


Lotus Exige S2
Stay frosty! This is a pretty heavily modded version as you can see.


Porsche 993 RS Clubsport
Specced with the windscreen wipers to point away from the driver as the LHD ones are.


Lotus Exige S1
Proper car pawn!


Hawk Stratos
Love these! Talk about a head turner. Amazing how short the wheelbase is.


Jaguar XJ220
You know, when you take your XJ220 out for a morning drive ... regular ...


Volvo 850 T5-R
We love these! Choice camera car.


Alfa Romeo (the model escapes me ...)
Love the three box design of this.


Bentley Continental GT3-R
See very very few of these, so always a pleasure to see and hear.


Porsche 356
Classy!


Honda Beat
Loads in Japan but unfortunately not that many here. So much fun!


Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS
This one stands out from the crowds of 911s on the roads.


Ferrari Testarossa
Cue 80's synth music ... Mega!


Porsche 993 RS Clubsport 'Clone'
Nut and bolt recreation of the mighty RS


Mazda RX-7
Very rare to see a Series 1 RX-7


Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta
High spec!


Ferrari 575 Superamerica
This or the Barchetta? Still very nice, but the latter for me ...


Dino 308 GT4
This is in such good condition


Lamborghini Miura
...


TVR Griffith
Pistonheads favourite!


MG A
Classic racer look


Aston Martin DB4 GT
Astonishing car driven by a well known HKer


Porsche 911 2.7 RS
Another Pistonheads favourite


Ariel Atom
Wild!


More soon!

[rupertprocter]

plenty said:

Great pics OP as always, and good to see the thread updated.

OP, where were the pics taken? I lived in HK for many years, during which I basically took zero interest in motoring as I found there to be almost zero occasions and places to enjoy driving. I always felt living there that nice cars were a pure status-symbol and just one type of the highly conspicuous consumption that is the norm in HK, not about the joy of the drive.

However your pics seem to reveal some half-decent roads and suggest car clubs meeting up, so perhaps I am being unfair.

Cheers! Apologies for being so slack with the updates. Glad you appreciate them!

I don't think you're being 'completely' unfair, but actually the HK car scene is very vibrant and there are huge amount of seriously knowledgable car guys and girls here. Go into any 7-11 or Circle K these days and a large percentage of magazines on the shelves are local car mags. Yes, of course there are people that have cars as status symbols, but I guess that's true of most places. There are not many places to enjoy driving, but if you have the bug then it's not really going to stop you I guess - and why not? Sunday (and increasingly Saturdays), super-eearly are the times that people get to use their cars in some way towards how they were intended. The drive and the social gatherings with like minded people at the end seem to be very popular. Shek O and out to Tai Po way are the choice locations, providing empty winding roads. The police are coming down like a tonne of bricks on all things car related these days, but in the last couple of years we have definitely noticed the car scene thriving more and more. There is even serious talk now about Hong Kong building a circuit at the sight of the old Kai Tak airport - which would be a fantastic thing! Hosting things like Formula-E (for the second time in December), and drift and gymkhana events which we have been involved with the photography of seems to have helped bring the interest in 'motoring' to the general public more and more. Despite the government/police's 'best' intentions, I personally feel the passion for motoring is on the up in this city!

[rupertprocter]

[8:10 AM, 10/12/2017] [phone]:

ericmcn said:

Great pics, was shocked to see it was created in 2013... 😛

Ta! I honestly can't believe how fast time flies by!

ericmcn said:

How can someone justify the huge tax - Ive heard it insane.

First registration tax (FRT), annual license fee, parking and petrol are an absolute nightmare!

This is what needs to be paid on top of the RRP or used value for registering a car for use on HK roads. It's pretty eye-watering, but not the worst in Asia!

I. Private cars

(a) on the first $150,000 (approx. 15,000 GBP) 40%
(b) on the next $150,000 (approx. 15,000 GBP) 75%
(c) on the next $200,000 (approx. 20,000 GBP) 100%
(d) on the remainder 115%

II. Motor cycles and motor tricycles 35%

On the upside, insurance is pretty cheap, and ... nope that's about it. Running a motorbike here is very low-cost once you have bought one. Free parking on the street everywhere, no MOT and insanely low insurance (my '08 Yamaha R6 is about 90 GBP per year). Used cars here are also quite cheap, with higher capacity engined cars almost being given away; 8-Series, CL, R129 SL's, S-Class', Turbo Rs, etc. etc. were and generally still are ten-a-penny, as they are fiendishly expensive to keep/run and not many reliable mechanics here to maintain them. But again, with the prices in classic cars what they have been in recent years, I think people are now realising this and trying to let them go for more money than before. But there are still some huge bargains to be had.

ericmcn said:

I have not looked at all these pics but did you come aross any Bugatti EB110....

Yup! But sadly not seen one on the roads. This was shot for the press launch of the HK Gold Coast Motor Festival last year.

plenty said:

rupertprocter said:

Car highlight for me was visiting Zhuhai circuit around 2001/2 and running into a group of HK Ferrari Club lads taking their cars around the track.

That must have been an eye opener! Strangely, I have still not been to ZIC. Had many opportunities but always got something on. Perversely, I have been GIC around six times on motorsport assignments. Must make ZIC happen soon!

RCOBLEY said:

Absolutely incredible photo's, OP. It's amazing to see how your photography progressed! Please keep updating the thread regularly 😀

Edited by RCOBLEY on Wednesday 11th October 22:09

Thanks mate! Yes, that's my objective now.

al1991 said:

Thanks for all the pictures, love the cars as much as HK itself.

Out of interest, who is the well known HKer driving the Aston Martin DB4 GT?

Thanks! He is the son of Michael Kadoorie (who is driving the Miura behind), and has a lot of very nice cars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Kadoorie

tomic said:

I remember in about 1993 someone I was at 6th form college with had an immaculate 70's Toyota Celica like that one as his first car - his grandad had bought it new and gave it to him as it wasn't worth trading in against a new Carina.

He got the pi55 absolutely ripped out of him by everyone with their Fiestas, Novas and Metros.

Imagine how cool he'd look now? I just considered them old Toyotas at that point and didn't even really think about them until recently. Lovely looking cars.

Ain't that the truth!

tomic said:

He got the pi55 absolutely ripped out of him by everyone with their (...) Metros.

The irony! You'd have to hope they were running 6R4's!

[rupertprocter]

Jonny TVR said:

I remember a few years back seeing (and hearing) a TVR Griffith blasting up Nathan road in the early hours.

Super-rare here! I think I've only seen two from memory. One in that classic TVR flip flop chameleon purple/green paint and a bright orange one. TVR's are hen's teeth in HK. I have a suspicion it's down to emissions on the first registration vehicle inspection (which is a swine), but am happy to be told otherwise.

Also, I would add a blast along Nathan Road at night as one of the World's Greatest Drives - purely in terms of atmosphere. I should do that with a Go-Pro on my bike actually ...

Jonny TVR said:

These are extraordinary pictures .. amazing.

Edited by rupertprocter on Thursday 12th October 09:12

[rupertprocter]

Jonny TVR said:

rupertprocter said:

Edited by rupertprocter on Thursday 12th October 09:12

Thanks Rupert and well done.

The Griff wasn't orange but can't remember which colour it was. It was a long time ago and I may have been a bit Merry.

HK is a special place.

Hahaha! I would not be surprised nor judgmental in the slightest. It is indeed one of a kind!



TVR for content's sake

[rupertprocter]

hondansx said:

I love the cars, but the photography really do them justice - fantastic work. Would love to learn to be able to take photos like that.

Thanks! Spend enough time behind the lens and you get the hang of it. Let me know if you want any tips

plenty said:

rupertprocter said:

That must have been an eye opener! Strangely, I have still not been to ZIC. Had many opportunities but always got something on. Perversely, I have been GIC around six times on motorsport assignments. Must make ZIC happen soon!

Yes it's a great venue, and was even more impressive 15 years ago before China was quite the behemoth it is now. I was there with a mate who is a nephew of the chairman of the HK Automobile Association. We got to hoon around the circuit in their in-house cars...don't remember what exactly, some type of FWD hatch. Happy days.

rupertprocter said:

Used cars here are also quite cheap, with higher capacity engined cars almost being given away; 8-Series, CL, R129 SL's, S-Class', Turbo Rs, etc. etc. were and generally still are ten-a-penny, as they are fiendishly expensive to keep/run and not many reliable mechanics here to maintain them.

Running costs are no doubt are a factor but there is also that Chinese people typically don't go for secondhand things of any kind so there isn't much of a pre-owned market for anything. (Branded handbags excepted.) Used cars tend to appeal only to expats and enthusiasts, a very small market.

Oh! That's a coincidence, we're actually official photographers of the HKAA and do assignments for their magazine 'DRIVEN'. Who was the president at that time? A friend of mine has recently become the new president.

Definitely Chinese people don't tend to by second hand items (or those particular types of cars as you mentioned), but I think the used car market in HK is pretty large to be honest, as evident if you pick up a copy of CAZ Buyer or look on 28car online. The problem with the used car market here is the lack of documentation and service history with almost all used cars. It's quite high risk buying a second hand car here - I speak from experience with my (now gone to the scrapyard in the sky) '92 NA6 MX-5. It was a total lemon

[rupertprocter]

plenty said:

rupertprocter said:

Oh! That's a coincidence, we're actually official photographers of the HKAA and do assignments for their magazine 'DRIVEN'. Who was the president at that time? A friend of mine has recently become the new president

My mate is related to Lawrence Yu who was HKAA president for many years until last year.

Haha! Lawrence is still very prevalent at all the HKAA functions. Still wears the hat!

[rupertprocter]

ericmcn said:

you should get a book published....Some great pics.

Cheers, Eric! It's something that has been in the pipeline but never quite come to fruition.

It's midweek, which means it's time for an update to the HK thread. Last Sunday, Hong Kong was hit by another Typhoon (the third in a few weeks) and whilst this one didn't quite strike with the impact of the last, we still had a tree almost land on our parked up car and had to avoid some low flying branches. The weather didn't deter some of die hard Sunday Morning Drivers, but the turnout was a lot less than on a Sunday with less inclement weather conditions. Once again, I will attempt to add some narrative, no matter how flippant to each of the images.

Sunday morning is usually full of Lotus Elise/Exiges but perhaps the wind and slippery surfaces put off the usual crowd. This was the only one from memory, here seen in tandem with some much larger predators (458 Speciale and Imperial Star Destroyer spec 991 GT3 RS), but still keeping good pace.



As I have said before, we love the NA and never tire of seeing them. Hope his roof is watertight - unlike my old one!



You can't buy class. Well, you can, but these days you unfortunately need a lot more money than you did a few years ago.



French cars have never had the massive success of Japanese and German cars in HK, but Renault's performance hatches have become very popular in recent years.



The E46 has reached neo-classic status and there are a fair few on the roads. This black one was one of four very nicely turned out M3s on Sunday.



More proof of the Renault popularity swing.



Marmite FF. Personally like them. A brisk ride in one helped make my mind up!



Two ways to skin a cat.



If you don't find Japanese Kei cars adorable, you have to be dead inside. Autozam AZ-1 ticks all the K-car and mini F40 fetish boxes ...



Ahhh, those days when the words Mitsubishi and Subaru conjured up images of flaming exhausts in cold Welsh forests. Alas ...



Underlining the above



These have been known to divide opinion. Looks pretty epic cutting through the driving rain.



Little on the roads sound quite like the big capacity AMG cars at full chat. Fire and brimstone.



Laguna Seca and resting on white Rays TE37s. Yes, please.



A very good clone of the legendary CSL on BBS LMs. Again, yes please.



Soooooo popular in HK. If you haven't visited I think you would be surprised just how many of there FD2 Civics there are on the roads here.



Seeing more and more EF Civics around these days. Which is nice!



I love this! Like something out of GTAV.



Same guy that owns the TA22 Celica in the previous long post. Really like this.



Another neo-classic rally weapon.



The UK didn't get many of these, but there are a bunch of them here. Not really trying to rub it in.



A friend's immaculate LS400. Future classic for sure.



More angles than a Ronnie O'Sullivan snooker escape.



Although it wasn't quite the quantity as usual, I hope you enjoyed the update! More to come soon.

[rupertprocter]

Good morning PHers, I hope you are enjoying the run up to Christmas. I type through the thick fog of a hangover, the result of far too many beers at the staff Xmas party last night, so what better way to take my mind off it then sharing some images with you from the past Sunday ...


Nissan Fairlady Z33


New California


GT3


New CTR


V12 Vantage


Rare colour 993


Z32 Fairlady


Another new Cali


Wiiiide Evora


Nissan turbo triple threat


340R


Another one


M2


Another Evora


See very few of these Preludes


Heavily modded S2K




Zenos E10R


GT3


Very nicely appointed Supra Targa




360 ageing gracefully


Super tricked out NSX


Modded Elise


'Scort Cossie!


I do't remember the last time I saw a Colt


Carrera RS


EG6 SiR in nice condition


Timeless R129


Speciale


So much going on on the new CTR


Awesome luxo-barge 90's CL


Singer




F1 355 tailing a California


GTiR




Nice blue previous gen Civic


Classic 911 in classic colour


Trick R8


R35


R34


Another


S1 Exige


Evo


Awesome EF Civic


Eye catching S2 Exige


Uncommon colour for an 997T


One of many WRX Scoobies


Macca


RS4 Avant


Modified Gallardo


Superleggera


Really liked this Mini


Ducktalied 997


Rare as hen's teeth AM Zagato


Classic 911E




Subtle but brutal 993T


Turbo body 964 Cab


GT3 RS


996T - buy now before too late ...


GT4


DBS


Splendid 928


355 GTS


964 Turbo beast


Nice Exige


AMG GT


Gallardo double


Last but not least, the Pagani Zonda Fantasma Evo


Enjoy!

Edited by rupertprocter on Tuesday 12th December 05:57

[rupertprocter]

sleepera6 said:

Blimey

The Targa Supra and all the Porsche 911s (especially the Singer) made me drool...

The M2, Skyline GTRs and the RS4 Avant are very nice too...

Edited by sleepera6 on Tuesday 12th December 09:40

I agree about the Supra. Have never been keen on the targa version (of most cars) but the owner has modified this perfectly imo.

[rupertprocter]

epom said:

A Sunny GTiR great spot. Love em.
Great pics as always.

Thanks mate! Yes, a huge fan of the GTiR also. You don't see many of them around but this one and another white one pop up quite a bit. At a guess, i would say many of the HK ones were written off in the 90's.

Zonergem said:

Superlative pictures of great cars in fantastic condition, OP, but maybe paints a slightly lopsided picture of HK motoring?

Lived there for 14 months in 2014-15 and there were horrors on the roads too.

Haha! Touche. I see 'FANNY MO' around so much. Did you notice the Hello Kitty outlined exhaust tip? Special. I actually quite like the purple 458 though. At least it's a bit different from the 99% red ones.

[rupertprocter]

Thanks for the comments as usual! Really appreciate them, and just happy that the pics are enjoyed outside of our little city here. It's good to be part of spreading the word about the HK car scene. We're constantly pushed down by ever-stifling rules and regs from the Transport Dept. so we feel it's important to show people that Hong Kong car culture is vibrant despite this!

I was in Thailand at the Chang International Circuit this weekend past covering the following six cards for a 10 hr touring car endurance race - the best type of racing IMO, and our HK/China lads did very well clinching many spots on the podium ..

Here are the lads, 3-4 drivers per car ...



And here are the six cars fro a 25+ car field ...















Meanwhile, the rest of the BC team stayed here and covered the Sunday Morning Drive. Here are some of the cars that haven't really been posted in the past













































Is this Cossie wearing a Corolla front bumper?!?!?









As usual, I hope you enjoy the cars and photos and as the festive period draws closer, hopefully there will be more stuff to share with you!

Edited by rupertprocter on Tuesday 19th December 06:36

[rupertprocter]

Hey there P-Heads. Hope you are enjoying your holiday! Been a long time, but I thought you might like an update of the Hong Kong car pawn photos. Ended up getting a domain that best describes the theme haha ...

http://www.sundaymorningdrive.com

There's almost certainly something in there to tickle your tickly bits There's a lot of less special stuff in there too, but the drivers like the photos so ...

Edited by rupertprocter on Sunday 21st April 16:22

[rupertprocter]

epom said:

That Cossie bumper off of the Escort ? Though I also agree with Corolla

I think it resembles a Corolla bumper too. Also does it seem like there’s something slightly ‘off’ with how squared off the front headlights are compared to the ones used to see in the UK? Seems like it’s a couple of percent different for some reason. There’s the same kinda thing going on with the UK spec CR-X (the EF platform one) and the Japanese ones. JDM ones seem to have a very slightly more squared off nose, that’s barely noticeable but uncanny. Maybe it’s just me...

[rupertprocter]

rodericb said:

Wow that Caddy CTS-V is right hand drive.

Yeah, I am not sure which market it was made for as they don't have an official distributer in HK.

[rupertprocter]

Hey P-Heads! First off, I hope you are all well. It's been a while and I thought that some people might be looking for some content to while away the hours stuck indoors. I know most of my old car mags have received a good thumbing in the last who knows how many weeks. So, here are a few bits 'n' bobs from Sunday Morning Drives during the second half of a turbulent 2019 in Hong Kong. A selection of images in no particular order, but there should be something to tickle the tastebuds. We have loads more over on our usual places:

www.sundaymorningdrive.com
https://www.instagram.com/black.cygnus/

Enjoy the small update and keep safe!

[rupertprocter]

S1KRR said:

Great pics!

Great cars!


I hope to visit Hong Kong one day, but I would never have expected such a range of cars!

Thanks! Yeah, the HK car scene is a hidden gem. However, I do not know how well it will weather the economic downturn and the increasingly stringent laws on cars and modifications, etc.

epom said:

GTI-R for me, well after the 22B.

Love them! Actually, there are a lot of GTi-Rs on the HK roads in recent months, mostly all bone stock (at least to look at). I am not certain, but they may have just fallen into the margin of being able to be registered in HK.

[rupro]

andharri said:

I wonder how many of those cars are on PCP ....


No seriously this is a great thread with some awesome photos, keep it coming!

Cheers! Haha! I am not about to ask the owners ...

v15ben said:

GTiR?... 22B?... R34?... Diablo? ...Ducktail Carrera RS?
Nope, it is impossible to pick a favourite.
Great photos as always and it takes me back to my Luk Keng experience (back in 2006!)

Cheers mate! My memory is awful. Did you talk about your LK experience here in the past? Can you regale us?

dxg said:

A Zenos!!! Wow!

Yeah, these two chaps are always out in it and there are another couple as well. I thought there was some link between Zenos and HK, but not sure.