The International Automodified (IAM) 2022 show has crowned its first king and queen.
Held in conjunction with the inaugural Malaysia Motor Expo (MME) 2022, Benedict Lai and Asia Kiara Putri earned their coveted titles of King of IAM 2022 and Miss Hot Import Nights (HIN) Kuala Lumpur 2022 respectively.
Hailing from Medan, Indonesia, the 25-year-old lass said she wasn’t expecting to win at IAM 2022.
“I wasn’t expecting anything, not with so many beautiful girls here, so I was honestly shocked when my name was called,” said a surprised Asia who picked up the Miss HIN Kuala Lumpur 2022 title.
As for the King of IAM 2022, it was Lai who received several awards including Best Nissan, Best Coupe, The Sixshooter and The Carbonetic to earn him the overall title.
Lai’s 1,000hp Nissan S15 (2003) is powered by a Toyota-derived inline-six 2JZ engine that’s managed by Link ECU G4+ Thunder engine management system – all while sporting a Vertex body kit, staggered 18 x 9.5jj (front) and 18 x 10.5jj (rear) Nismo Omori LM GT4 wheels wrapped in 235/40 (front) and 275/35 series tyres.
“Initially I purchased this car from a close friend of mine before deciding to build it up from scratch and the process took more than two years to complete,” said the 38-year-old businessman who deals in automotive parts.
Lai, who calls Sabah home, added he decided to replace all of the S15’s external panels and interior plastics with carbon fibre – a process which proved to be as time-consuming as it was costly and a topic he quickly shied away from but only had this to say: “Hush, it’s a secret”.
Without any doubt, this particular Sabahan certainly did pay a pretty penny to have this car looking the way it does.
The MME 2022 event is an automotive ‘sales carnival’ weekend being held from Nov 11 to 13. It will not just include the IAM 2022 (Nov 12-13) show, but also other exciting events such as Hot Import Nights (HIN) Sound&Style, live-on-stage DJ Hunt performances, R/C exhibition, Miss Malaysia Motor Expo photo-hunt and test drive sessions.
Organised by MME, the event is exclusively sponsored by Petron as the Official Fuel Partner, Grantt Lubricants as the Official Lubricant Partner and Shopee as the Official e-Commerce Partner.
Tickets were available for early bird buyers at RM10 on Shopee for the first 1,000 purchasers while on-ground tickets at the event cost RM20 per adult. Children aged 12 and under gain free entry but must always be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Lastly, selected lucky MME patrons will stand a chance to win a Petron fuel voucher worth RM100 by taking part in a simple questionnaire during the three-day event.
The RM100 fuel voucher will be credited to the winner’s new/existing Petron Value Card app that’s available for download for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Following the end of the inaugural MME, efforts are now being directed towards bringing future enhancements to the event, one of which includes the highly coveted Car of The Year award to be presented in the fourth quarter of 2023.
About MME
The organisers of MME began their activities more than 11 years ago and the event was first branded as the NST CARnival.
The show’s activities were suspended for more than two years, due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, and along with its resumption, the organisers were able to secure an exclusive endorsement from Malaysia Automotive Robotics and Internet of Things (MARii) – an automotive-focussed agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
Doing so helped to bring about the inaugural MME which was exclusively sponsored by Grantt Lubricants as the Official Lubricant Partner, Petron as the Official Fuel Partner and Shopee as the Official e-Commerce Partner.
For more information, call +6012-300 5070 or +6013-770 4272, or log on to our Instagram page and Facebook page.
THANK YOU FOR A SUCCESSFUL MME 2022 AND CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!
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