At the IFC Mall unveiling of the stunning Aston Martin DB9 (below) on Monday, we learned of one of the most exacting shopping centre drives since the filming of The Blues Brothers. According to Aston Martin Hong Kong's general manager, James Alderton, the 450-brake horsepower, aluminium-bodied two-plus-two had to steer over a footbridge from a construction site on Sunday night and, at about midnight, negotiate a Tomb Raider-type route up a ramp that was just wide enough for the Aston's wheels. 'There was only a small margin of error,' Alderton said. 'You needed just enough pressure on the throttle.' Quite so. Foot Down can picture the DB9 inching forward, like John Mills' ambulance in Ice Cold in Alex, carrying all the marque's hopes for a successful launch in Hong Kong and a subsequent tour of Australia. A six-litre V12 engine capable of 300km/h requires perfect control, but we learn Alderton took the Oyster Grey Aston to its plinth below the cinema in fine order.
This exercise was way past Foot Down's bedtime, but we would have loved to have seen whether the DB9 could do 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds, and brake its grooved disks and bolted calipers on the IFC Mall's very shiny floors. But we guess Hong Kong retailing isn't as ready for such tests as the Warwickshire engineers.
City University of Hong Kong students (above, from left, flanking their police escorts) Vivian Kwan, Benny Tang, Johnny Ma and Rosary Lau, say they and the BMW Newsgroup raised $23,800 for Orbis in the Drive for Sight, between Sai Sha and Tai Mei Tuk, on Saturday. Police escorted 35 BMWs on a hitch-free, 90-minute run and the 21- to 23-year-old organisers are over the moon with the success of their event. Apparently Ma thought of the idea as he and Tang were already members of the BMW Newsgroup, a club for Bimmer lovers, but they found funds were hard to squeeze from the 40-odd companies they contacted. 'We didn't have any experience of organising such an event,' they said. 'Plus, in this poor economic situation, it's quite hard to get sponsorship. Getting people to trust us is harder than we thought. The most valuable thing we learned in this campaign is to maintain good team spirit and have faith in ourselves.'
But the students won through, and Foot Down congratulates them on raising oodles of cash for poor people with cataracts, trachoma or glaucoma; publicising the generosity of BMW Newsgroup people; and highlighting the community spirit of the police. The second-year students' press relations were also a credit to their campus. They sent us a proposal of their project in good time; backed it up with a concise press release, and submitted pictures in perfect order, making the marketing departments of several local car dealerships look amateurish.
Motor Sports Club of Hong Kong chairman Peter Mann has his fingers crossed for the Ferrari charity parade celebrating the Po Leung Kuk charity's 125th anniversary, at Penfold Park car park at Sha Tin Racecourse at 10am tomorrow. 'It is hoped that the Ferrari Parade will successfully create another Guinness world record, spread the message of the kuk's services and raise funds
for the Child Sponsorship Programme.' The club hopes to convene 125 Ferraris for a 30-minute, pre-brunch return trip to Kau To Shan.
The event includes a carnival display of cars, sales booths and games, and is open to the public between 11am and 5pm.