Carl Yuen, a barrister and vice-chairman of the Classic Car Club of Hong Kong, says you shouldn’t bet against his E30 BMW on a mountain run against a modern sports car
“I drive this E30 BMW from 1987. I guess progress drew me to the car. Its advanced multi-link suspension improved the handling infinitely and it has boxy, toy-car proportions. I found it for a friend and we went for a test-drive, but since he was new to Hong Kong, I took the wheel and he approved of it.
After he paid for the car and took delivery, he then found out it was a manual, and he couldn’t handle three pedals. So I paid a nominal sum for it. The previous owner named the car “Puface”, but most of Hong Kong’s car community know it as the “AngryBird”, after a red cartoon sticker replaced the stone-chipped – or should I say sand-blasted – BMW badge on the nose.
It is angry. To the unsuspecting, it’s a humble, old car, but if you get close enough to notice it’s hot-cam idle, wide tyres and squat suspension, you wouldn’t bet against it on a mountain run against a modern sports car.
My AngryBird is completely stock. So far it’s been utterly reliable – apart from that time when I stormed from the airport to Mong Kok in 15 minutes on a cold engine. It needed a motor transplant after that. It’s my go-to car, rain or shine. I know it will start, get me there and back, and the engine will cut out after I pull the key out. Not many cars of mine can guarantee such performance.
In the past decade I’ve been lucky enough to drive some of the world’s most exotic vehicles: Aston Martin DB5s, Lamborghini Miuras, Ferrari 275s, even the Benz tricycle from 1886 – but not a tram, yet.
