You can see - and pretend to drive - a genuine Sauber Petronas F1 racing car (right) at the MTRC's Telford Plaza shopping centre in Kowloon Bay, this weekend, for free.
The car can fuel any petrolhead's dreams. Built in 1996 and driven by Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Johnny Herbert, the 10-cylinder, three-litre racer has 700 brake horsepower at 16,000rpm, a top speed of 340km/h and 14 top-10 finishes in Formula 1, the best of which was third place in Monaco, said Bernard Schmutz, of the car's owners, Race Car Promotion Asia (9552 6040). Schmutz and his Swiss-based partner, Jo Vonlanthen, formed their company to rev up the returns in retail by parading historic racing cars in shopping centres.
Schmutz said the Sauber was scheduled to park in Telford Plaza this weekend, Maritime Square, in Tsing Yi from Monday until September 21 and then Paradise Mall, in Heng Fa Chuen, from September 22-26. He added his cars are more viewer friendly than the impressive but well-cordoned BMW Williams F1 FW25 at Festival Walk on display in August.
'Unlike other F1 cars on display which have a 'do-not-touch' [two-metre] no-go zone around the car, ours will be 'touchable'; the car also comes with a simulator for the public to [try out],' he told Foot Down. 'We also have all the accessories to arrange fun pit stops, that is for members of the public to change wheels [with Monza-style nut drills] in a little competition. Furthermore we have two original racing overalls and a Heinz-Harald Frentzen racing helmet for photo-taking sessions.'
Foot Down did point out that the high-octane demands of the world Formula 1 circuit would be a breeze compared with the buffeting the Sauber can expect at a Hong Kong shopping centre. Schmutz said he was worried about the 'wear and tear' in one of the 'Centres of Sars' and said the racer's mirrors would probably be removed to minimise the odds of them being pulled off. Even so, we congratulate Schmutz, RCPA and the MTRC on their initiative in giving old cars new life.
Sixty members of the smartclub hongkonggathered at Dynasty Heights in Shek Kip Mei and 27 cars paraded on to Tai Po Kau, last Saturday, in a beep-beep, fun-and-game-filled celebration of the Mid-Autumn festival in which members made lanterns in the shape of their favourite motors. We look forward to further news. For club details, call Rose Cheng at 2594 8834.