Gallery: MerdeCars By Cars & Coffee Malaysia

We were on ground at MerdeCars by Cars & Coffee Malaysia earlier today and the sights were awesome!

Whilst a certain political rally is garnering all the news headlines on Malaysia Day 2023 today, we avoided the traffic nightmare in the city centre caused by which to indulge in perhaps the country’s best gathering of petrolheads and car enthusiasts to celebrate our single unifying passion for all things four-wheeled.

We’re talking of course about the ‘MerdeCars’ car gathering and meet organised by Cars & Coffee Malaysia earlier today. Running all day today (Saturday, 16 Sept) from 9AM to 9PM, the event takes place at the ‘SEGAR’ Double Storey Car Park complex located just under the DUKE Highway’s Segambut Toll Plaza and adjacent to the United Point Mall in the Segambut district.

As you can see from the images sprawled here, both the quantity and quality, as well as the variation of vehicles parked on show, are all respectably high. Organisers are also holding a number of competitions across multiple categories to award dedicated owners and their prized show cars. There’s even a small stage hosting a number of local DJs spinning tunes throughout the event’s running too.

We’ll get to the vehicles on show in a bit, but it’s also worth highlighting that MerdeCars features a dedicated air-conditioned space hosting various F&B vendors to keep everyone’s thirst quenched and hunger at bay. There’s also number of vendors present flogging a host of wares including collectibles, toys, retro apparels, as well as parts and accessories.

The air-conditioned foyer hosted various F&B vendors, as well as a variety of folks peddling all sorts of things related to car culture.

If you have a bit of time to spare and you’re keen to check out some of the best JDMs, retro classics, modern performance, as well as performance Euros, then the MerdeCars meet and gathering event is perhaps worth the long drive to attend. Entry fee costs just RM10 per person, whilst kids ages 12 and below enjoy free admission.

All the details and housekeeping aside, here are some of our favourites on show at MerdeCars today…

One of the coolest cars that caught our eye was this tastefully modified 1992 Nissan Skyline GT-R R32. Its original RB26DETT mill had been stroked to 2.8-litre, and it now churns out enough power to see this 90s icon easily keep up - and perhaps outrun - the bulk of current-gen performance cars.

We were fortunate to have seen this OG 'Godzilla' start-up during the show and, simply put, the sound of this six-shooter's turbos spooling and its blow-off valves will indeed make most modern sportscars with similar outputs sweat a little...

Parked next to that R32 was this mint first-gen (NA1/NA2) Honda NSX. It's been kept tastefully clean with minimal modifications, making it an exemplary in our eyes as far as collector JDM cars go.

Speaking of mid-engined JDMs, we also spotted a few of relatively mint units of the second-gen (SW20) Toyota MR2 like the one pictured. These are very underrated machines, and to see one this clean is quite a treat indeed.

Besides retro JDMs, an equal amount of modern retro and classic German cars were on show too.

One of our favourites from this lot was this fully restored BMW E30 cabrio that's been converted to an Alpina C2 2.7. This beauty was painstakingly restored and rebuilt by the crafty folks over at German Autowerks based in USJ, Subang. The outfit is run by folks who are equally passionate and they are skilled, both of which evident in the way how neat this E30 show car looks.

For this writer personally, the oddity that is the Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution holds a special place in my heart - I used to own the non-Evolution version that this special underpins.

Based on the second-gen Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4 SUV, this limited-run homologation special was borne out of Mitsubishi's golden era of conquering the gruelling Dakar rally event throughout the 1990s. It featured a peppy (for its time) 3.5-litre V6 DOHC petrol mill that delivered 275 HP. It also packed the styling to match, much of which stemming from the radical aerokit it was dressed in featuring flared wheel arches. Only 2,500 units are known to exist, all in right-hand-drive form. Quite a few of these still roam Malaysian roads today.

The Pajero Evolution above arguably would have not existed had Mitsubishi not built things like the 3000GT and Lancer Evolution. Of course, MerdeCars had a selection of which on show today.

At this section, we saw perhaps a near-complete collection of Lancer Evolution models spanning several generations. Our favourites here were the gunmetal Evo III, as well as the red Evo 6.5 TME. Both were all-original examples and, suffice to say it, to see either in good nick (read: low mods and NOT stolen) is also a treat.

Adding some Italian flair to things were these trio of Alfa Romeos - 159 sports sedan, Brera GT coupe, and a classic Giulia (Type 105) - that arguably stole the limelight away from the sole Alfa Romeo 4C midship sports coupe that was also present at MerdeCars.

Some passionate Initial D fans had their replicas on display too.

Besides cars, there were several vendors present showcasing parts and accessories ranging from performance brakes and exhausts to wheels, horns, TPMS, and more.

Other vendors present had collectibles and toys, as well as retro apparels up for grabs.

Though not for sale, it was also a treat to see passionate JDM fans sharing their collection of retro magazines and DVDs plus collectible die cast models and toys - mediums that arguably spurred the love for JDMs amongst many Malaysians.

By the end of our tour lasting just a little over two hours earlier today, it's plain to see that the car culture isn't just well and alive in Malaysia. In fact, upstart meets and gatherings like MerdeCars is proof that there are still plenty of appreciative owners and enthusiasts alike throughout the country willing to come together host and attend soirees as such not to cause a ruckus or disturbance, but simply for the love of cars.

You can check out more images we snapped from MerdeCars in the extensive gallery prepared below...