Those were the words used to describe the participants of the recent 50th Anniversary Asia Drive (50AAD).
They are the who’s who; the captains of industry and, as 50AAD organising committee member and Lamborghini Kuala Lumpur COO Marcus Chye succintly put it, “You can’t tell them what to do.”
Nevertheless, this was to be a celebration of Lamborghini and its legacy.
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| Source: Exoticarphy |
And just like the hundreds of Lamborghini owners who took part in the Lamborghini 50th Anniversary Grand Tour in Italy on May 8, which recorded a ground breaking number of 320 registered participants, the 50AAD was to be South-East Asia’s response to it.
The 50AAD attracted 77 participants from Malaysia and Singapore, the latter featuring 36 representatives while the rest were made up of Malaysians.
The gathering, which was recorded as the largest assembly of Lamborghinis by the Malaysia Book of Records, took place on May 9 at the KLCC area in Kuala Lumpur.
Among the Lamborghini models were the Gallardo STS, the Diablo, Murcielago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce and the Aventador LP 700-4.
The supercars converged at the open-space parking lot adjacent to Mandarin Oriental Hotel just before noon, while 57 floors above at Petronas Tower 3, members of the media and the 50AAD organisers were looking down from the exquisite rooftop bar and restaurant, Marini’s On 57.
It was indeed a rare and amazing sight, and rather amusing, to see these “fighting bulls” tamed by city traffic and driving single-file into the parking lot.
Crowds were instantly drawn to the sight and sound of these man-made super beasts ... even more so when it was time to leave.
After the participants finished lunch at Marini’s, it was time to head out and begin the five-day drive that will take them along the Titiwangsa range from KL to Bukit Tinggi, Cameron Highlands, Ipoh, Penang and back to KL.
As the Lamborghinis fired up and slowly made their way out of the parking lot, the fierce, spitting, roar of the engines made it seem like you were in Sepang for an F1 race.
And it was also the only time you could see a convoy of Lamborghinis move so slowly. But once they hit the road – accompanied by police outriders – they were seen no more.
By the time members of the media made their way up to The Chateau, a luxury spa and organic wellness resort in Bukit Tinggi about an hour later, the participants had already checked in while the Lamborghinis seemed to be slumbering in the basement carpark.
“Everything went smoothly,” said Roslan Rosdi, the drive director for the 50AAD, in an interview just before the gala dinner and charity auction at The Chateau that evening.
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| The team behind Lamborghini's 50th Anniversary Asia Drive (from left) Roslan Rosdi, Marcus Chye, Datuk Dr Wenddi Anne Chong, Dr Rodwin Bahadur and Brigette Liberty. |
“The turnout was good. We were escorted by police outriders in the city and we had dedicated lanes for the convoy and we were out of the city in 10 to 15 minutes. We reached Bukit Tinggi about a half-hour later and we only had one car break down, but that was a technical problem which was immediately sorted out,” said Roslan.
Also present at the interview was organising chairman Dr Rodwin Bahadur and Chye, who pointed out that the real challenge, drive-wise, was to take place the next day, when the convoy embarked for Cameron Highlands.
“The drive to Cameron Highlands is around 250km and we will be taking the old roads which will take us to towns like Bentong, Raub and Ringlet. There will be no police escorts until Ringlet and going through the towns will be challenging,” said Chye.
But if they were overtly concerned, none of them showed any sign.
In fact, they were all in high spirits, chatting away nonchalantly and quick to laugh. It was obvious that, while that didn’t say it, they were extremely proud of what they had achieved with the 50AAD.
“This is the first time Lamborghini owners from Malaysia and Singapore have gotten together and there are only two drives celebrating the 50th anniversary of Lamborghini – the Grand Tour in Italy and the 50AAD in Malaysia,” said Dr Rodwin.
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| Source: Exoticarphy |
The organising committee also agreed that in order to make this drive different from the rest, they had to take the road less travelled ... literally.
“Malaysia has some of the best roads in the world. I know a lot of people don’t think so, but it’s true. And I’m not talking about the North-South Highway, I’m talking about the old roads that were there before the highways came along.
“It took us a month to figure out the destinations and the routes and it was all about finding the right combination of both. This drive will set us apart from other car clubs because it will be about the journey and not just the destination,” said Chye.
The committee also pointed out that it had to be something unique in order to get the participation of Lamborghini owners on such a drive.
And by how well things are going, Lamborghini owners who missed out on this drive may yet get another chance next year.
“We can definitely look forward to another drive next year and maybe this time, we can take the route up to the east coast,” said Chye.
> Partners for the 50th Anniversary Asia Drive are Mastercard/Citibank, Castrol Edge, Heineken, San Pellegrino, Marini’s On 57, The Chateau, Banjaran, Leica, and World Asia Publishing among others.
