Add More Horsepower!

Up to this day, there are only two drivable original Hot Wheels cars that went to production. First there was the Twin-Mill, then there was the Deora II, manufactured to real life from the magic hands of the legendary Chip Foose.

We all know that several years back, Mattel opened a factory in Indonesia to produce some of their toys. But what we don’t know is that Mattel ordered Hot Paint Factory to create a real-life replica of a Chevrolet Blazer from their Hot Wheels Blings line-up.

This car is a straight copy of a Hot Wheels die-cast from the bottom up. Judging from the looks of it, it would be most likely that it is capable projecting high-intensity microwave beams from its quadruple fog-lights, very useful for evaporating opponents into thin air.

Stripings have also become an important factor for a show car, like the one we can see here, it came up into something that resembles a tsunami-wave-sea-gull-checkmark-like pattern. Or is it something from an airline graphic standard manual? Hmm… Ouch!! It’s hot…

As it is common in Hot Wheels Blings cars, oversized bling-ed rims are rules of thumb. Many many horsepower are wasted only to turn these to proper speed. Oh did I mention stopping too?

Engine modifications are simply essential for Hot Wheels based cars. Twin exhausts… Hmm… If the Twin Mill has twin Chevrolet engine, why can’t this one too? It’s a Chevrolet anyway… This car would probably be capable of producing an immense 1500HP output and blow away every car along the Vegas strip.

This car is currently owned by a lecturer in Pelita Harapan, our famous hunting ground for adept ricers. And while we usually don’t review show cars, this is one of th…

Wait, did you just said that this is not a show car?

What?!?! Hot Wheels Blings doesn’t have anything to do with this?

Maaannnn… I just wasted 20-minutes writing a useless review…

Okay, in that case. This car is simply norak. And using show cars for daily driving is a crime.

Facts:
Chevrolet Blazer, B 8960 PH, UPH lecturer’s parking area, Karawaci, Tangerang.
Thanks for AT for the pics.

It’s not everyday we met a fellow Indonesian that has a nice taste of rides and modifications or even the term “form follow function”. We got to know him when we encounter some of the merry mishaps with the next-door forum. Meet POS VETT and his set of cars. He drives a 1995 Nissan 240SX SE on weekdays, and a 2003 Chevrolet C5 Corvette Z06 on weekends. Now if you think everyone that loves American cars hates Japanese cars and vice versa, think again.

According to POS VETT, the day he bought the car, it already came with modifications of its own:

• KTS coilover (16 way adjustable, true ride height adjustable, fronts come with camber plates)
• Heim-jointed tension rods
• Heim-jointed rear upper control arms
• Stainless-steel braided brake lines
• Stock shifter shortened about 2 inches
• Shaved emblems/blacked out rear center garnish/blacked out side markers/turn signals
• Foglights have been removed

And he only added mostly maintenance items after that. As a speed-enthusiast, he regularly switches between several sets of tyre combinations. Although he realizes what his car would look like, the photo shown here was his attempt of reducing the rear traction of the car (225/45/17 Bridgestone S-02 Pole Position front, 195/50/15 Bridgestone S-03 Pole Position rear).

This is an unedited quote from him:

“This is my weekend warrior, which, as of now is hibernating for winter. It comes with 5.7 liter LS6 engine that pumps out 405 hp and 400 lb-ft from the factory. Some people would point out that it uses an “old” technology, as in it still has OHV configuration with push rods. Despite of its engine size, it’s quite economical at highway speeds since the engine spins at a mere 1600 rpm in 6th gear at 65 mph (104 kph), it gets 31 mpg (~13 km/l) at that speed.”

As we can see here, his modifications are mostly for performance, and there are only minor cosmetic mods intended to create a “subdued” look out of his ride. Here’s a list of his modifications on the Vette:

• K&N open element air filter and K&N air bridge
• Magnaflow 15763 catback with X-pipe
• Stock shifter shortened 3.5 inches
• LapTrax Deluxe (mod for traction control/advance handling electronics)
• Taylor 10.4mm spark plug wires and NGK TR55-IX Iridium spark plugs
• 18×10.5 Alcoa/Speedline wheels on all 4 corners (They have been painted black with machined lips)
• 315/30/18 Pirelli PZero Corsa
• Suspension adjustment and alignment by Danny Popp

When asked by a fellow member of a local online autoshow community to switch to bigger rims, he said clearly that bigger rims does not make your car win the race. When thrown to a riceboy, that is truly a bold argument, and we doubt if that could change the their mindset.

And for you who are wondering what those car bras are for, they are to prevent stones chipping out the paint of your car’s nose.

See? You don’t really need that badass GT-Wing to make your car go faster. And if POS VETT did win many trophies to be proud of, he’s not that kind of guy who thinks trophies are everything, or showing them to everyone he met. And so are we.

Who said only Hollywood has all the superheroes at their disposal. We now have proof of the upcoming Batmobile spyshot, to be used on the upcoming Batman movie due in 2008, Batman Before. You never thought that they’ll be shooting the movie in Indonesia.

The crew members responsible for test-driving the car are probably at lunch break, and because Indonesia has a broad-range of weird looking cars, they decided not to cover this top-secret movie prop up. They thought, who would notice that this is the next batmobile, hmm? What we never thought is that the next Batmobile would be a mini-MPV.

Some new features are also included on the upcoming car, such as the Anti-Radar Skin Enamel (ARSE) hood and body kit paint (hey, superheroes have all the latest tech, right?). And the body-kit itself are made from a specific secret material, light-weight, organic and aerodynamic, bulletproof, weatherproof, and breakproof. There is also a set of high-velocity carbon-alumunium composite windmill-type wheels. We’re pretty sure that the next batmobile would be able to fly, something like that futuristic Batman Beyond type of car. Those small antennas above the car would enable Batman to communicate directly with sattelites above Gotham city, these are used for enhanced surveillance of the city to hunt those perps down for justice.

Athletes are not the only ones who are lucky enough to be endorsed, trend suggests that upcoming superhero movies are also prone to endorsements. We all know that the next Batmobile would be a Toyota, equipped with Injen Technology air intakes, which are obviously required for a high-powered villain-chasing superhero vehicle. The ARSE-enabled hoods and body kits are apparently endorsed by Bomex. Those turbine boosters are Remus made parts, along with some extra additional power gain from those NOS tubes (somewhere outside the car), and also some turbo kits from HKS.

Now I really can’t wait for the next Batman movie.

Facts:
Toyota Avanza, unknown license plate, UPH parking area, Karawaci, Tangerang.
Thanks again for the Karawaci correspondent team, you guys are great being paparazzis.

Lately, European cars are becoming quite a popular choice for extravagant modifications as well, such as this example with a BMW 5 Series.

Carbon fiber or even flat black hoods, tops, and trunks are so yesterday. White hoods, tops, and trunks are hip now. Other than creating a sleek racing look, it also performs as an UV ray reflector at noon, ensuring your car’s interior is in tip-top cool condition.

Tribal stickers are always in fashion as well, as we all agreed that it boosts another 50HP on each side of your car. Cheap, yet effective. Classy? No doubt!

Oh, apparently the guy is also a German. I assumed his parents are so in love with our country that they named him Didiet instead of Ulrich, Helmut, or Hans.

Facts:
BMW 5 Series, blurred license plate, Moestopo, South Jakarta.

Apparently, highly dilligent Japanese language pupils came from different parts of Indonesia, one from Bandung, and one in Karawaci. Well this one is not as advanced as the previous one, he/she appeared to master 4 Katakana letters.

Now, as we did before, a small research that is, translated those 4 letters into:

fu, re, i, mu

As we decided before, “re” doesn’t mean much in Japanese, and I don’t think that “fure” is a Japanese word. So, the most logical combinations are:

fu, rei, mu

And here are the translations:

• fu: giving to, submitting to, refer to, affix, append, negative, minus, pawn (in chess or shogi), instructor, tutor (to a prince), widely, generally, captive.
• rei: command, order, dictation, cold, cool, companion, example, instance, custom, usage, precedent, case, soul, spirit, departed soul, ghost, expression of gratitude, lei, ray, zero, nought.
• mu: six (and I thought only roku means six…)

Therefore, fu rei mu is… Umm… Giving to a departed soul six? Umm… Negative Expression of Gratitude Six? No no, wait… Umm… OH I KNOW! It’s a movie title! Yes, it is!

CAPTIVE SPIRIT SIX!

Hahahahahahahaha! I can speak Japanese now!

Oh by the way, this car also has an extensive array of dashboard ornaments. I was wondering if the owner knows that putting too many things on the dash is a bit dangerous… And that steering wheel cover, as Simon Cowell always said, is a complete nightmare…

Facts:
Toyota Avanza, B 1166 OF, UPH parking area, Karawaci, Tangerang.