Thomas Tan
Ravinder Singh, an electrical and electronics engineering graduate from Multimedia University (MMU) has made Malaysia proud after his entry, a Morris Minor “Mercenary” made it into the Top 13 finalists from across the globe for the 2020 Hot Wheels Legends Tour World Finals.
The 32-year-old owner of The Classic Garage in Johor Bahru did not take the top prize at the world stage. He came so close to winning it. The eventual winner was Riley Stair from Sacramento, California with his heavily modified 1970 Pontiac Trans Am.
Stair’s Pontiac will be immortalised as an iconic 1:64 Hot Wheels die-cast toy and will be available for purchase by Hot Wheels fans and collectors around the world in 2021.
The virtual world final event in Los Angeles on November 14, 2020 was live-streamed from Jay Leno’s Garage on Jay Leno’s YouTube Page and Hot Wheels’ Facebook Page. The finale was co-hosted by Jay Leno and Jarod DeAnda. Judging the competition were Hot Wheels designers and car-loving celebrity judges: Jay Leno, Snoop Dogg, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias and Brionna Lynch.
For Ravinder, his journey to the finals of the tour is not insignificant. For a long time, he has been a contributor to the local custom car community – sharing his own builds as well as providing the services to others in the hobby. And although he did not win, it was a major achievement for Ravinder who beat thousands of entries from around the world to make it to the finals list which comprised 12 other custom cars from around the world.
He built his American Hot Rod-inspired custom car from a Morris Minor. The build was praised for its use of period-correct tyres and unique choice of parts – most of which aren’t available in the United States – giving it a distinct and memorable silhouette.
Ravinder was also the first-ever winner for the Malaysian leg of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour. Twelve out of 67 local entries were shortlisted and Ravinder was chosen as the best of Malaysian entries for the Hot Wheels Legends Tour World Finals.
The panel of judges were made up of Hot Wheels designers Ryu Asada, Phil Riehlman, Brendon Vetuskey and Lindsey Lee. Each entry was judged on three criteria: authenticity, creativity and garage spirit – something unique which is built not bought.
The Hot Wheels Legends Tour Malaysia presented by Art of Speed is part of the 9th Annual Art of Speed custom car show which would be held at 1 Utama Shopping Centre (New Wing), Petaling Jaya from 30th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021.
Admission is free to the public. Visitors will have a chance to get up close and personal with the 1:1 scale Hot Wheels ‘65 Volkswagen Fastback as well as the Top 5 custom car entries of the Malaysian leg of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour.
The Hot Wheels Legends Tour, now in its third year, is a travelling car show in a global search for the next fan-made custom car to be made into an iconic 1:64 Hot Wheels die-cast toy. Malaysia is the first Asian country to be invited to join the USA, UK, Mexico and Germany on the tour and to host the first leg of the tour.
For more information on the Art of Speed Malaysia, visit www.artofspeedmy.com or www.facebook.com/ArtOFSpeedMY/.
More information on the Hot Wheels Legends Tour can be found here at https://hotwheels.mattel.com/explore/en/legends-tour
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