Double R Experience

If money can be grown on trees then life would be perfect when I can have few dream cars in my garage. And that dream garage of mine would only be 'complete' if the limited edition Mugen RR is parked in between other legendary automotive creations. Having said that, I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sit and test drive one of the 200 units Mugen tuned Civic FD2 Type-R that was sold within 8 minutes when it was launched in Japan in 2007. And to be honest, after driving the car I wet myself as if it was the first ever time a girl touch me.

I went to KL for few weddings and stopped by at Vision Motorsport to check out Hizam's DC5 that is due to be driven out by now. Led by a car freak by the name of Ijad, Vision brought in a fleet of imported Japanese performance cars including this Mugen RR. When Ijad handed over the key to me I just couldn't stop smiling. When the push-start button was pressed, the 240hp engine came to life, silently. I was expecting the higher compression engine to make some noise but it is as stealthy as any other stock K20AR motor. Well actually the test drive was done in the showroom compound with only first and second gears involved, but that has already made me burst into tears of happiness. The engine came to life at 5200rpm and at that point you should be aware to watch the tachometer as it goes to 9000rpm within a blink of an eye! The torque is massive and the pedal cries to be pressed forever. The pulling power of this 1.2 tonne car felt almost like the lightweight CR-X with B18CR engine. It keeps on going as if the redline is at 12000rpm! The 5 way adjustable Mugen shocks were quit stiff to my liking, but it'll definitely worth on track together with the specially made semi-bucket carbon fiber Recaros that will hug you endlessly.

It'll take forever for me to write about this but one thing for sure, if you have that RM300,000 to spend on a car, by all means consider getting this! With everything Mugen from the engine to the interior, this is not your ordinary Civic. There's a very big difference on buying a genuine car and converting ones. Trust me. Enjoy the pics!

Milano Red can't go wrong on any Hondas.

Aluminum vented hood with carbon finishes and carbon grill.

Mugen twin tip exhaust is very hush-hush. It only screams when the VTEC kicks in. Note the F1 style LED 4th brake light.

18" Mugen GP wheels. This at least gonna set you RM15,000 per set. Brembo comes with Mugen rotors and pads.

Mugen shocks, steel braided hoses, pads and rotors at the rear. Slurp. Who needs 'Green' when you can have red. Hehe.

Souped up K20AR with Mugen internals, ECU and carbon fibre engine bay porn. 240hp generated is monstrous!

The seats that you can't get from Password JDM or JDMLand. Ha ha ha....

Mugen tachometer.

Mugen gauges.

The badge that differentiates this car with other FD2 Type-R.

A memorable photo that I could show to my grandchildren one day...

Stay tuned with my blog as Vision will be bringing another Honda gem - the super limited (coz there are only 20 units in the world!) Mugen FN2R! :)

The First Photoshoot

Finally!!!! After months of postponement I manage to spend one wet evening for the maiden photoshoot of Black Mamba. Shots were taken using almost complete photography equipments by my good friends Hazry Mivek4doddle and Pejal Patayalama. I'm very impressed with the result although experimenting black car with a dark background caused headache to all of us. Nevertheless, it was a very good experience doing this photoshoot and hopefully the boys will come out with some crazy shots. Thanks to Haz and Pejal!

Behind the scene...hehe.

Hizam & The Return to iVTEC!

Hizam is one of the coolest dude I've met through my circle of Honda friends. He is one of the few guys known to be very meticulous and precise when it comes to modifying the car. With a list of previous cars like the torquey 2 liter EK hatch and a pristine showroom condition Tommi Makinen Evolution 6, Hizam 'unwillingly' decided to jump ship by getting a Mini Cooper S. A decision that caused unrest to a lot of his friends. Hahah.

Having said that, Hizam survived two years with the MCS. As you can see from the his blog (which hasn't been updated for more than 6 months haha), the Mini was done quit neatly with the only prototype TEIN for Mini and other goodies. But one thing for sure the Mini didn't quite satisfy the flaming modification desire of a Japanese car enthusiast like Hizam. No doubt the Mini is a head turner, but when it comes to modification, the costs can destroy whatever dreams you have for it. Not only that, the options for aftermarket parts are very limited and the styling, well to be honest it looks pretty dull. Furthermore, being smoked by a 1.6 Civic VTEC can cause the owner to breathe fire from the nose. That's very dangerous. Ahaks!

So last weekend Hizam made up his mind after doing test drive on few cars including the RM300K Mugen RR. The Mini will be sold off to make way for..*drumroll*..Facelift 2005 Integra Type-R DC5! The car is entirey stock with black interior and it is a Spec-C (complete with rear wiper, foldable mirror, push start button. Mine is Spec-A. I got none of those.) A very good foundation for a guy who does thing the right way. Hizam paid for around RM150K for the car and it should be out real soon..and that also means Black Mamba will have a new sparring partner. Hehe. All the best to Hizam and his new K-powered Darkside! :D

Azam in Honda Tuning!

Another Honda fan and a good friend of mine Azam was recently featured in the latest Honda Tuning. His DOHC VTEC powered 1983 Civic photo was selected and published under the very-photo-perfectionist 'OH SNAPS' section! You can check it out in the April issue.

I like the photo so much. Congratulations to Azam and keep on producing wicked photos! :D