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

[rupertprocter]

T.K said:

Don't be deceived!!

I lived and worked in Hong Kong for years (until very recently) and ran a modified E55 AMG out there.

I am as big a petrolhead as you would care to meet (or not as the case may be), and the place was very nearly enough to put me off cars for life. I am just recovering thanks to intensive GT3 therapy.

Awful drivers, awful roads (with no access to the great expanses of mainland china unless you buy someone in local government a yacht), awful traffic, awful second hand market (ok, quite cheap for crap cars, but everything is clocked and good luck finding anything that has been servied (as for service history....)) and 100% tax on new cars, awful mechanics that try to rip off ex pats, awful salesmen that do the same, awful parts prices and availability, £1000+ p.a. tax on fruity cars, £300+ p.m. parking. Awful. Awful. Awful. Awful.

Very possibly car hell.

Nice pictures though!

Cheers!

Pretty much agree with most of what you say above, but there are still some places where you can drive spiritedly especially if you get up early-doors at the weekend. The secondhand market here is a disgrace as you say. It's so easy to get ripped-off or sold a lemon, but the more people you get to know in the car scene the better. There are some very good local mechanics and trustworthy used car dealers here, but they are very few and far between and you really need to find them through word of mouth more than anything. But yeah, a driver's paradise Hong Kong isn't.

I have been pretty busy in recent weeks and that coupled with the oppressive heat and humidity has meant that I haven't been out with the camera much. Here are a few photos with a few more on the way..

Actually took this one last year, but ran into it on my hard disk and I don't think I ever uploaded it.


Aston Martin Vantage by Rupert Procter, on Flickr

Very lovely DB6


Aston Martin DB6 by Rupert Procter, on Flickr


z_JH19955 by Rupert Procter, on Flickr

There are a lot of NS-X's popping up around the city as they recently became old enough to qualify for HK's equivalent of classic car tax. HK peeps love there NS-Xs and so do I.


Honda NS-X by Rupert Procter, on Flickr

A pair of Porkers belonging to a couple of very friendly fellas.


Porsche 911s by Rupert Procter, on Flickr


Porsche 911 Targa by Rupert Procter, on Flickr


Porsche 997 Turbo by Rupert Procter, on Flickr

More NS-Xs. There were six white ones out and about on that particular morning.


Honda NS-X Type-R by Rupert Procter, on Flickr

A friend's 993. Sounds the business, but some idiot in a minivan recently smashed in the front corner.


Porsche 993 Carrera by Rupert Procter, on Flickr

Love this very pure looking 964


Porsche 964 / 993 by Rupert Procter, on Flickr

I love random 80's Japanese stuff like this Delica


Mitsubushi Delica by Rupert Procter, on Flickr


Porsche 996 Turbo by Rupert Procter, on Flickr


Ferrari 575M by Rupert Procter, on Flickr

Nicely turned out Cayman that thinks it's a 911. This thing was loud as hell!


Porsche Cayman by Rupert Procter, on Flickr


Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX by Rupert Procter, on Flickr.


Porsche 964 by Rupert Procter, on Flickr


Porsche 964 by Rupert Procter, on Flickr


Ferrari 575M by Rupert Procter, on Flickr

The rise in used Alfas on HK roads has been meteoric in the last year or so. The local Alfisti club can be found out and about on the country roads every Sunday without fail. Lots of spirited driving combined with the unmistakeable sounds Alfas tend to make.


Alfa Romeo 147 GTA by Rupert Procter, on Flickr

The Daddy.


Subaru Impreza STi 22B by Rupert Procter, on Flickr

Similar to the Alfa guys the HK BMW club are out almost every Sunday come rain or shine. They're nice blokes and they always appreciate a photo!


BMW 3-Series by Rupert Procter, on Flickr

More to come later.

[rupertprocter]

A few more snaps from the weekend. This Sunday the HK Ferrari Club put on a charity run, driving kids around one of the outlying islands in their cars. I've got a tonne of photos, but these are the ones I've had time to put up for now.

















On the way home on the minibus and the light suddenly took a turn for the better, so I jumped off the bus got my camera out and this was the first thing that blew past! Five minutes later the road was in shadow again. Sometimes you make your own luck.



It's good to see HK petrolheads getting their cars out in all weather conditions...







A couple from a few weeks ago





More later...

[rupertprocter]

Some of the Hong Kong Classic Car Owner's club were out this morning making the most of the surprisingly decent weather we had.

A funky old Subaru. GL I think.


Mitsuoka La Seyde


Gorgeous Testarossa


Proper nice 968 CS


Classic wedge


A friend's 575M


Rare Maser Kyalami


Ex-Maranello Sales 328 GTS


Gorgeous Pagoda


Drop dead stunning Giulietta Spider Veloce


More to come later...

[rupertprocter]

Cheers guys! I'll make sure I keep them coming.

Cheers, Don1. I got pretty sodden that day! All in the name of a decent photo though.

I was under the impression that the Lotus was the actual car used in the movies and some advertising campaigns but apparently sadly not. Still, fantastic looking thing. One of the cool things about HK is that you can actually make UK style plates entirely legally as the font, plate size is very similar (if not exactly the same as the UK before) and you can have any combination of up to 8 numerals or letters as you like.

I was definitely surprised to see that Aztec too! I thought I was dreaming.

Edited by rupertprocter on Sunday 1st September 11:19

Epom, which 22B, the one from the previous page? The earlier one was recently imported from the UK.

Edited by rupertprocter on Sunday 1st September 11:20

[rupertprocter]

McSam said:

Absolutely wonderful, thanks for sharing - mouth agape for some of the stuff you've seen, but your passion and dedication (and skill as a snapper) shines through. Love it.

Welcome to PH, and rarely have we meant it more!

Thanks for the kind words, McSam - much appreciated! I'm just about to drop the better half off at the airport as she's off on her jollies for a couple of weeks, so hopefully I'll be able to get out a bit more with the camera and add some more to the thread.

[rupertprocter]

Thanks once again guys! It's a real pleasure to share the stuff I have seen here with true enthusiasts like yourselves.

Morgrp - As I have said in a previous post, I think it's a replica. So sad

[rupertprocter]

yes i'm mad said:

I think this thread should be stickied. Absolutely stunning pictures, scenery and machinery! Love it

Wow, praise indeed... Thanks mate! Don't reckon anyone will be stickying this anytime soon though. I just ran across a few pics that I don't think I ever uploaded to my Flickr account. Nothing particularly special, but I'm sure you knowledgeable folk will appreciate the cars anyway (shout if I've uploaded them here before)..

A WALD kitted E63. I think it was a 63 anyway. It sounded like a big AMG V8 even if it doesn't have the badges.















And another one of the beautiful 1750 I saw a while back...

[rupertprocter]

Cheers! Doing some house-keeping. These are all photos that I have never uploaded.

Road weapon


Perfect


Loads of these here now - which is nice!


Nive 458


Lots and lots of these here - great cars!


Not special but it's probably one of the few that gets used properly


Had one of these back in the UK, this one is very nicely turned out


Another GT86


Just a Z4, but I think it looks pretty clean


A Corniche isn't something you see often on the Sunday drives


Nice black 430


Makes a change from all the red ones


Pretty rare to see a Mark I GTi here so this was a real pleasure!


Exige

[rupertprocter]

Johnster1991 and Johnny, thanks a lot!

McAndy I didn't know you could get them in the UK. I guess that's an import. Accord Euro Rs a abundant here. You see them allthe time and they are especially popular with young boy racer types. In certain parts of town you can see them every few minutes. The previous model is also very popular and very cheap to pick up used but I imagine it's tough to find a tidy one!

[rupertprocter]

The colour of that Aston is wonderful!

Small Car, I have only ever seen one matte 430 here and it was a Novitec Rosso one.

MonkeyBusiness said:

I have a request if I may.

I've always been interested in the very rare MX5 Coupe. Any photos?

Sorry, I've never seen one here unfortunately.

A couple of rarities from the weekend. Both mid-engined, 80's Italian sports cars but at the opposite ends of the power spectrum...

Can't be many X1/9s left in this condition!







Snapped from my office window...

[rupertprocter]

A few shots from the last couple of weeks. Not much diversity in my locations recently. Hopefully that will change when the weather cools down...

Very nice looking Exige-S. Seems to be a very different car to the S1/S2, but still looks the business.


I love the 'bug-eye' Scoobies


Can't beat a simple recipe of an Elise and a winding road


This looks the busines (minus the temporary trade plate)


Sublime


You can keep your modern Ferraris, Lambos and Porsches. For photography I'm all about seeing the classics.


Love these so much! The HK car fraternity are a friendly bunch too.


Sexy Clubsport


Different... opinion dividing for sure


Day-glo trim looks boss on this


Elise S1 Exige conversion. Apparently the original cannot pass HK emissions.




It was the Distinguished Gentlemen's Ride charity run for research into prostate cancer this Sunday AM. I thought it was a worthy cause and I know many of you guys like bikes too. More pics here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/48817379@N03/sets/721...

[rupertprocter]

melvster said:

Annoyed i have only just found this thread; absolutely fantastic selection of photos.

Cheers and welcome, melvster! I recognise your username from another thread I think...

EDIT: Forgot this one - how could I?!

Edited by rupertprocter on Tuesday 1st October 14:58

[rupertprocter]

Dave G fsi said:

rupertprocter said:

Elise S1 Exige conversion. Apparently the original cannot pass HK emissions.

Just noticed what he has done with that reg plate, wasnt that obvious at first glance

Subtle!

Yes, I have seen EL 153 around too.

[rupertprocter]

You mean the 340R?

Some pics of the cars arriving for the annual Classic Car Club of Hong Kong meet last Sunday.

Quite a mixed bag of stuff, which is one of the things I like about Hong Kong, seem to have a car community with a very broad taste in cars. It's nice to see something like that huge and stately Rolls Phantom II alongside a tiny Autozam AZ-1, each with their own merits and interest value. These photos were probably around 50% of the cars in attendance, but the others came in from another road and the photos that I took in my opinion aren't as unique as from this position. Other highlights were a blue Miura P400, a modified and very well-used 356A and many more. I may post the photos at a later date.

As much as it's nice to see cars like this, it makes me slightly disappointed about the amount of cars here that are stored away never to be appreciated by the public. The space could have easily been filled five times over with some of the rarest stuff in the world that lurks in Hong Kong collectors garages, but unfortunately a lot of it sits under lock and key never to see the light of day. It's great when you hear stories like the one of the Stingray down there, that kept being denied registration by the transport department. The owner persisted relentlessly, changing minor things and going through tests that would have you pulling your hair out to get it on the road - and props to him because it's wonderful to see and hear stuff like that on the HK roads.

Anyway, enjoy the cars...

[rupertprocter]

Cheers fellas! Booked the day off work for the huge Ferrari event slash 458 Speciale launch today, but it seems there's nowhere decent to get shots of them on the road and I'm not really interested in photographing them all in the convention centre. Still, I'll go out and have a look at what's out on the roads anyway seeing as I have the day off. Watch this space!

[rupertprocter]

Here are some recent photos. Comments to come later as I am in a rush to leave the office now. Macau GP...

Edited by rupertprocter on Saturday 16th November 09:10

[rupertprocter]

Thanks for the comment, chaps! Here is a small update. Some photos I took at the weekend from an event put on by Hong Kong's most popular car magazine, Car Plus to celebrate their twentieth anniversary.

[rupertprocter]

6750cc said:

Some fantastic shots there...

Thanks for sharing them!

Andy

Andy, I can't remember if I've asked you this before, but is there anywhere where we can view all your Japan photos? I love them so much but think that I've missed a bunch in the other thread.

[rupertprocter]

6750cc said:

rupertprocter said:

Andy, I can't remember if I've asked you this before, but is there anywhere where we can view all your Japan photos? I love them so much but think that I've missed a bunch in the other thread.

Hi Rupert,

Not at the moment - you would need to search through Vol 3 onwards to find them.

I'll look to upload to a Flickr account during the New Year hols.

Glad you appreciate them,

Andy

Excellent! Definitely looking forward to that!

daytona111r said:

Some brilliant shots and brilliant cars!

I've been to HK a number of times recently and have only seen loads of Maserati Gran Turismos and GTRs - I'm amazed by how many classics and track focused cars you have shot.

Thanks mate! It's odd, quite a few people say they come to HK and don't see anything very special. I'm not questioning anybody on this, but I don't understand how it happens as almost everywhere I go I see interesting stuff and it's the same for my mates that like cars here. My office overlooks one of the main expressways on the Island and there are great cars going past all the time. Odd. :shrugs:

[rupertprocter]

Leithen said:

rupertprocter said:

Thanks mate! It's odd, quite a few people say they come to HK and don't see anything very special. I'm not questioning anybody on this, but I don't understand how it happens as almost everywhere I go I see interesting stuff and it's the same for my mates that like cars here. My office overlooks one of the main expressways on the Island and there are great cars going past all the time. Odd. :shrugs:

Over the three and a half months I've been in Happy Valley, I've seen almost everything current in the supercar world and a lot of classics. It's a running joke with Mrs L that between here and Stanley we are guaranteed to see at least one Ferrari each journey, and never the same one on consecutive days.

The rarest car has been the Mercedes SLS - only one amongst multiple McLarens - Oh and no Veyrons!

Happy Valley is a hotbed of interesting cars, eh. There's a white AM Lagonda in s*** state in one of the residential car parks up there. Unofrtunately, you won't be seeing a Veyron anytime soon though as they're all left-hookers. Have you been into Car City and seen their Gumpert Apollo?