Encore Unlimited: Retro Havoc Goes Real Big

Earlier this year, the Retro Havoc team ticked off their eighth annual event with another delightfully chaotic show near Kuala Lumpur.

The huge turnout at that event is all the proof you need that Malaysian car culture is on an upward trajectory, but given that Retro Havoc is predominately for classics – just as its name suggests – imagine how big of a show you’d have in Malaysia if it was opened up to everything? Well, we don’t need to imagine, because Retro Havoc Encore Unlimited answered that question last weekend. And it was massive. 

So massive in fact, that it could only be held on a former airport runway that measures 1.2km (0.74mi) long and four vehicle lanes’ wide. Encore Unlimited had capacity for 2,000 show cars and the same number of motorcycles, and space filled up fast.

My plan was to arrive at the venue early and catch some of the cars and bikes rolling in, but it turned out that many were already on site and in position. Still, things got off to a great start, with morning light falling across the scene and Kuala Lumpur’s sparkling city skyline in the background.

Given the physical size of this event – and the fact it ran from early morning until midnight – I ended up shooting a lot of photos. So I’ve decided to split my main coverage up into two parts. Today, we’ll take a quick look at some of my favorite aspects of Encore Unlimited, and this will be followed up with a huge gallery post later in the week.

Let’s get into it…

The first thing you need to know about Retro Havoc Encore Unlimited is that it’s not just a static event. Near the entrance, local drifters put on a show from 10:00am till late, and drift taxi rides allowed spectators to get amongst it too. There’s nothing better than the sound of a 2JZ or V8 bashing its limiter first thing in the morning.

From what I’ve seen, Malaysia has one of the most progressive drifting scenes in all of Southeast Asia. Whenever I visit Kuala Lumpur there seems to be a local drift event happening, and just this weekend the runway was playing host to Malaysia’s national drifting championship with Round 3 of the Drift Kings Asia Cup.

Many cars piqued my interest at the event, but the one that stood out to me the most was this Toyota Caserta. I’d never heard of this model, and after scratching my head for a good while I consulted Google, where a search revealed only 150 units having ever been built by Modellista (a Toyota Motor Corporation affiliate) on the MR-2 Spyder/MR-S base. I love learning new things at car events.

I’m a huge fan of EF-series Honda Civic, and at Encore Unlimited I found one of the cleanest examples I’ve ever seen. A simple B-series DOHC VTEC engine setup sitting in a wire-tucked and smoothed bay, coupled with a caged interior and RAYS Volk Racing TE37 wheels equals absolute perfection for me.

Then there was this purple wide-body Porsche Boxster, which actually isn’t a Porsche Boxster at all. It is, in fact, another MR-S with custom bodywork from JWide that mimics the 981. It fooled me and it fooled my friends. The A31 Nissan Cefiro next to it – also a JWide build – is a real looker too.

It was great to see a large group of ladies come out to share in the love for Malaysia’s custom car scene with their own builds. Thanks to Farah from Retro Havoc for getting the girls together for a few shots.

At the far end of the runway sat two very cool Honda Citys. I absolutely adore these little cars, and whenever I see one in person I’ll always spend time to check it out. I also love the fact that in Japan the City could be purchased with a Honda Motocompo scooter, which folded up and fit perfectly in the rear. There were a few of those on display too.

It wouldn’t be a Retro Havoc event without exhaust pops and bangs, and as participants rolled out of the venue late in the evening it got real rowdy. But this time there was fire too. That’s the bonus of an outdoor event.

I had a great time at Encore Unlimited, and once again it’s all thanks to the couple behind Retro Havoc – Alie and Farah. Their dedication to the cause speaks volumes, and I don’t think Malaysian car culture would be what it is now if it wasn’t for all of their hard work behind the scenes.

Stay tuned for that Retro Havoc Encore Unlimited mega gallery…

Rick Muda
Instagram: ardskellig