And he won this Hot Wheels competition with a customized Proton Suprima S
The Hot Wheels Legends Tour in collaboration with Art of Speed Malaysia is back for its third year and this year, William Chong, a trailer truck technician from Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, made history by having his customized Proton Suprima S be the first Malaysian-made vehicle to represent local car culture on this global stage.
This year, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour was on the hunt for a custom car worthy of being immortalized as a 1:64 scale Hot Wheels die-cast vehicle available for sale in over 150 countries around the world and was judged by Hot Wheels designer Bryan Benedict, Design Director of Die-Cast Vehicles.
Moreover, he was joined by other amazing judges including Brendon Vetuskey, the lead designer of Hot Wheels Monster Trucks and Red Line Club vehicles as well as Tengku Djan, DEV JBC, and Ahirine Ahirudin. Entries were judged on Authenticity, the embodiment of Hot Wheels Creativity, and a “built not bought” attitude.
Bryan Benedict said, “It’s really cool to me to see the unique car culture there is in Malaysia. There’re unique brands like Proton and Perodua that we don’t see in the US and there’s a unique spin that people put on things that I find really intriguing. They’re done in a unique way that is distinctly Malaysian and I love that.”
On top of that, the Malaysian leg of the competition went up 25 percent over last year with 204 entries. This is indicative of the growing car enthusiast community in Malaysia but of all the entries, it was William Chong’s unique spin on his 2015 Proton Suprima S which caught the judges eyes and took the top spot.
William Chong also said, “I can’t believe my car (has) been chosen to represent Malaysia at the Global Semi-Finals of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour. What an honour! I’ve poured so much of myself into this build so to hear that the judges think it is cool and unique is a great feeling. I hope I can make Malaysia proud!”
Additionally, as the winner of the Malaysian leg of the competition, William’s Suprima will compete in the Hot Wheels Legends Virtual Global Semi-Finals on 11 November 2022 where William will have to figuratively duke it out with the other winners from across the globe in the Global Grand Finale on 13 November 2022.
For our fellow Malaysians who want to show support to William Chong and his awesome 2015 Proton Suprima S, don’t forget to tune in to the livestream at this link here on 11 November 2022 at 9 a.m. to be a part of the action.
