LAST year, it was a dream drive from Kuala Lumpur to The Banjaran Hotspring in Ipoh. This year, Mercedes-Benz-Malaysia brought out the creme de la creme of the German marque’s range of luxury cars to The Kasturi resort in Cherating, Pahang.
The Mercedes-Benz Dream Cars range comprises sumptuous, cutting-edge models that surely leave any car enthusiast drooling at their sleek exteriors, opulent interiors and unparalleled performance capacities.
The line-up is represented by powerful Mercedes-AMG cars, the ultimate luxury of Maybachs, and the undeniable connoisseurs’ choice of elegant coupes and cabriolets.
The folks at Mercedes-Benz Malaysia were kind enough to let some media personnel sample the Dream Cars for the trip to the beach town of Cherating on Aug 27.
We arrived at The International Gallery at Alya KL around 8.30am, being literally greeted by 10 Dream Cars such as the Mercedes-AMG CLS450, Mercedes-AMG GT C, Mercedes-AMG E63 Sedan and Mercedes-Benz E300 Cabriolet.
Before flagging off, our host Mark Raine, who is Mercedes-Benz Malaysia vice-president of sales and marketing (passenger cars) warned us about risking an affair.
Actually “Risk an Affair” is Mercedes-Benz’s seductive theme of offering the utmost indulgence for every kind of driver through its Dream Cars line up.
THE DRIVE
Yours truly was paired with Azzman of BH Auto in a Mercedes-AMG C43 to begin a nearly four-hour drive. The luckier pairs got to indulge in GT C and CLS450, among others, although everyone would eventually get behind the steering wheels of most dream cars over the two-day excursion.
My partner took the first drive for almost 100km until a driver change at Bentong toll plaza. There was another brief stop at Temerloh R&R for a mutual car change. Being at the bottom end of the Dream Cars hierarchy, it was almost impossible to swap the C43 for say, the topless E300 or at least a more expensive upgrade (GLC 43).
Sadly, the mission was impossible. Couldn’t get a mutual swap and on we moved to The Kasturi still in the C43, which was not a bad car. It’s wonderful and powerful actually.
The C43, producing 376hp and 520Nm, negotiated the twisty and hilly Karak and LPT highways and narrow beach roads along the way to our destination with ease.
After checking in at The Kasturi, which was built by prominent architect Hijjas Kasturi, we made our way to the resort’s welcome area at 3.45pm before proceeding to the next event: Opening of Mercedes-Benz’s latest Autohaus and service centre in the capital of Pahang.
The outlet is owned and operated by Asbenz Stern, which is owned by Goh Chuan Kiong. He started his Mercedes-Benz business in Sungai Petani, Kedah in May 2004.
Goh said the new outlet would enable Asbenz Stern to reach customers in the untapped Kuantan market and further establish the Mercedes-Benz brand in the east coast.
After the event, we were given the sensual S560 Cabriolet for a 40km journey back to the resort. The cabriolet boasts a diamond grille, chrome-plated front splitter and bigger air inlets. It sits on 20-inch twin five-spoke wheels as standard.
Powering the S560 Cabriolet is the M176 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 engine which provides 469hp and 700Nm of torque, replacing the previous 4.7-litre V8.
COMEBACK DAY
The next day, our host arranged a photoshoot of the Dream Cars during sunrise at around 6.30am. For those who had yet to sample other Dream Cars, there was a 30-minute spin in each model. Mercedes-Benz Malaysia also arranged chauffeured rides in a Maybach.
Our most wanted Dream Car is the GT C. Given its popularity and the limited time to test every car here, it would take something special for us to take it for a spin. Luckily, a chat with Raine over breakfast led us to having the key of the RM1.4 million car. It came with a condition though: Bring back the coupe in 20 minutes.
The brief drive was unforgettable. The GT C adds to the accomplished AMG GT family, which includes the GT S and top of the range GT R. The GT C offers 557hp at 5,750rpm to 6,750rpm and 680Nm at 1,900 to 5,500rpm - 47hp and 30Nm more than the GT S - and a 0-100kph time of just 3.7 seconds.
The GT C spelt the end of our Mercedes-Benz Dream Cars drive? No.
The last itinerary was driving home in an S Class, by a chauffeur! In a convoy of 10 units of the W222 S Class, we were chauffeured home like some “towkeys” or successful corporate figures right until our front door to complete our dream drive and return to reality.