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As a special guest at the Art of Speed Festival in Malaysia, my one duty is to choose my personal “pick of the show.” With hundreds of custom and classic cars and custom motorcycles spread through four exhibition halls and outdoor spaces, I’m worried that could be difficult.
As it turns out, it’s an easy choice.
A look at Asia’s thriving custom culture scene
I’ve been into customizing vehicles since owning my first car and buying a motorcycle in my mid-20s to convert into a café racer. Custom culture has played a huge role in my life and I’ve been lucky enough to attend many incredible custom automotive and lifestyle events around Asia. In my experience, many people outside of Asia have no knowledge of these events or the thriving, world-class Asian custom culture scene. I believe it’s well worth a closer look.
Around the end of July in Kuala Lumpur, the Art of Speed Festival (Instagram) takes place. The festival is the brainchild of custom enthusiast Asep Ahmad Iskandar. For the past 12 years, he’s hosted it with the help of his wife, Deni, and a modest team of staff.
Back in 2011, the first Art of Speed was held outside a shopping mall and consisted of a handful of custom motorcycles and some live music. In stark contrast, the 2023 show took place at the MAEPS convention center, where it occupied four of the venue's huge exhibition halls and around eight acres of outdoor space. Like previous years, the show ran for two days and during that time attracted an impressive 65,000 visitors.
This was my third visit to Art of Speed as a special guest. I was one of around 30 guests who flew in from Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Brunei. But the real stars of the show are the vehicles. This year there were 230 classic, collectible, and race-bred cars and an eclectic collection of custom motorcycles on display. The influence of American and Japanese culture at these events is clear. You’ll find traditional café racers, choppers, and scramblers, Bōsōzoku cars, Japanese performance classics, American muscle cars, and the occasional hot rod. Amongst them, you’ll also find trends and styles that are unique to the Asian custom scene, which tend to be the highlight of these events for me.
Art of Speed was originally inspired by the Mooneyes Hot Rod and Custom show in Yokohama, Japan. As a result, the Mooneyes brand has a strong presence at the show, but what makes AOS unique is how it embraces many different aspects of custom culture. This year, showgoers were treated to skateboarding exhibitions, remote-control car displays, an automotive swap meet, and a massive vintage clothing and homewares market. Local distributors were showing off the latest bikes from Harley-Davidson, Moto Guzzi, Royal Enfield, and Triumph and were conducting test rides around the showgrounds. For 2023, the show also had its very first Art of Speed beauty contest and an “Off the Grid” outdoor lifestyle exhibition. Another big component of Art of Speed is live music. This year the AOS “Sound Circus” hosted 200 bands and DJs who performed all weekend on stages spread throughout the halls and exhibition grounds.
Malaysia is the home of the Hot Wheels factory where the iconic brand produces its die-cast scale cars. Art of Speed and Hot Wheels have built a strong relationship over the years and the brand now has a sizeable presence at the show. This year, Hot Wheels took over an entire hall to host a rare and collectibles convention. This hall and the Hot Wheels official stand in the main hall attracted vast numbers of collectors who queued for hours to get their hands on limited-edition die casts.
Choosing my “pick of the show”
My honor of selecting my “pick of the show” is never an easy task, but this year there was a clear standout for me. Rather than a tricked-out café racer or survivor chopper, I was attracted to a bike that used a style unique to Asia.
After poring over all the custom motorcycles on display, I nominated local builder Rusty Factory's "Iron Red" Honda S90Z Choppy Cub as my pick of the show. Small-capacity motorcycles rule the streets of many Asian cities. As a result, they’ve made their way into the custom scene. I’ve seen Honda’s Cub and Dax converted into all manner of custom motorcycles, but this Choppy Cub is by far my favorite transformation. Its style is a direct interpretation of American chopper trends with a raked front end, tall handlebar, high-backed seat with sissy bar, and plenty of chrome. It's fun to look at and impressive in its execution.
Art of Speed will be back again in 2024 and the event shows no sign of slowing down. Unlike many traditional shows, it pulls crowds of all ages and from all walks of life. It’s a breath of fresh air in the custom world and a credit to Asep’s hard work and dedication. Art of Speed is exactly the kind of custom culture celebration needed to attract new generations of builders, artists, and musicians to the scene. It holds a permanent place on my events calendar and if you ever get the chance to attend I couldn’t recommend it enough.
