Photos: Mitsubishi Extreme Drive 2009

Wed, Nov 25, 2009

By Tony Ng

Early this month, some 200 eager beavers turned up in a remote corner of Singapore, so remote that our taxi uncles still do not know how to get there.

Nevertheless these group of people were there for this year's version of the Mitsubishi Extreme Drive. Turnout - as per last year - was hot. Who would pass up a chance to test out driving stunts with a car - more so when it's not yours, tongue-in-cheek, of course.

As we've reported earlier in our Extreme Drive preview, the highlight and the difference between this year and the last was Singapore's first-ever ramp-to-ramp jump. Successful jumps would let you stay in the air - in a Mitsubishi Colt R - for about two seconds.

Three other stations feature in the course - which at times made us felt like we were doing PT training but with Mitsubishi's cars.

The multiple-360-degree spins made a comeback from last year due to its crowd-favourite status. It basically gave drivers the experience of driving a car without the anti-lock braking system (ABS).

Slip sliding, also known as the moose test, made up the next station. Participants had the chance to compare how two cars handled differently when confronted with rapid directional changes.

The new Lancer EX Ralliart was brought up against another saloon of a different brand. When pushed, the Active Stability Control (ASC) in the Lancer EX Ralliart quickly stepped in to tweak the direction of the car while the other car went wide and off the course.

Another station, the J-turn, let the participants be James Bond for a day. Using the 2.0-litre Lancer EX GT, participants swung their cars around from reverse to a forward motion in one fluid move. Useful if you're escaping the mata roadblock in the future.

The event was also used as a launching pad for Mistubishi's performance car, the Lancer EX Ralliart. There's no better way to showcase a performance car than some rubber-burning, right?

All participants walked away with a stunt-driving certificate, photo memento and goodie bags.

If you were at the event, see if you can spot yourselves in the photos.

tonyng@sph.com.sg

Number of photos: 75