Bangkok Honda Run: A Night To Remember

When it comes to automotive culture, Bangkok is truly fascinating. The builds you see in Thailand’s capital city are really only limited by the imaginations of their creators, and even extend beyond the road.

My most recent visit to Bangkok in April was a brief one, but that didn’t stop me soaking up as much of the culture as I could in the short space of time I had. Without any publicised events happening, I knew getting involved in the local car scene would be difficult due to the language barrier and my understanding that most meets in Thailand are arranged on the Line app or in private Facebook Group pages. So I contacted the only person I know who is actively showcasing the local automotive scene – Chad of CB Media. He pointed me in the direction of Infinite Media, and said that they’d take care of me. That, they definitely did.

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Little did I know that the Infinite Media is part of Infinite Motorsport, and their workshop is actually Liberty Walk Thailand (look out for a shop tour soon). I met up with Oat, the founder of LBWK Thailand, and told him of my plans to explore the local scene, but needed a little help navigating it. On the back of this, Oat and his team decided to organize a Honda car meet that I could attend.

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Everyone met up at LBWK HQ, where the plan was to convoy down the highway to a rest area. There, I could check out all the attending cars in detail.

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Thailand has a lot of similarities to Japan when it comes to the street scene, and I was told there’s a group of Civic owners that run their own version of Osaka’s infamous ‘Loop’ in Bangkok. If you search ‘Loop R Thailand’ on YouTube you’ll find a bunch of clips.

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After driving and attempting to capture a couple of highway rolling shots, we finally made it to our destination where everyone gathered and talked about their builds. They might have all been Hondas, but there was so much diversity in the models and the way they had been modified by their passionate owners.

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An instant standout was this K-swapped (and turbocharged) S2000. I was told it’s making about 700hp, which is absolutely wild.

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This EK9 Civic Type R has also received a K-swap, and the detailed engine sits within a very clean bay.

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You can’t go past the Spoon Sports look, and this EG6 and EK9 pair really do it justice with countless parts from the legendary Japanese Honda tuner.

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It was hard to miss to the KevMannz GT, a wide-body EG6 Civic on Air Lift Performance suspension. Out at night and under lights, this thing gave me all the Need for Speed vibes. It was definitely the most eye-catching car at the meet, not to mention the loudest.

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Fast & Furious-style Honda Civic or tuned Honda Odyssey?

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By this time it was pretty late, so some people decided to call it a night. Others were eager to take me to Bangkok’s iconic landmark the ‘Giant Swing’ next to the Wat Suthat Thepwararam temple, so we split off, and with my newfound friends decided to shoot a bit more.

It was a great introduction to the Thailand car scene and I’m pumped and eager to explore more of the culture. In fact, next week I’ll be doing just that, while also attending the Bangkok International Auto Salon. However, I’ve still got plenty to show you from my April trip, so stay tuned for those stories over the coming weeks.

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I’d really like to thank the Infinite Media team for their kindness and hospitality; I don’t think I could have had a better introduction to the local scene than what they gave me. The team also created a behind-the-scenes video of this Honda meet, so make sure you check that out here.

Rick Muda
Instagram: ardskellig

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24 comments

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1
Just1n Narayan @ drive.com.au

This is seriously awesome.

Wish I still had my Hondas, I really to buy one again to add to my list (over 100 cars owned)

My GRMN iQ would probably give most a run for their money but brother, keep up the coverage!

2

Gotten to the point where the list of cars you Havnt owned, is now shorter than the list of cars that Have. LOL. That evo though. I need to come check it out.

3

You’ve got a Toyota?? Really?? You should have said before…

4

A time attack styled civic with 3 huge exhaut pipes and scratching the pavement. Even we have the ricer winner of the year or well executed up to 11 example; hope it's the latter.
Nice coverage and i didn't check the video yet but from the photo i can tell it has good vibes. Cheers mate, waiting for the follow up stories.

Author5

The time-attack styled eg6 was truly awesome, definitely well executed. It's got a show car vibe although I've seen footage of it on the track ripping!

6

You have to love that odessey

7

This is great, loving those tracking shots!

8

Cool meet. Even here in Japan, its rare to find such an interesting collection of Hondas.

9

Man those two white S2000s are just so clean
Love the Honda culture here!

10

That Mugen CR-X Pro is still the tops, IMHO.

11
Bradley Freitas

Absolutely

12

There is just something about the FD civic. I really want a Type R in That iteration haha. I bought a cheap as hell FD1 in manual for daily duties, refreshed the suspension and wheels...and just cant believe how much of a nice drive it is, even with the lifeless R18 motor. They look good, they go great, and in Type-R guise....tick allll of the boxes.

13

Great article, Rick. Good to see all the appetizing Honda.

Needs more Honda red badges though :).

14

Honda used to be the "unspoken and unofficial" benchmark for other Japaneese manufacturers. That was 3 decades ago. Now...relying solely on past reputation, Toyota has leap frogged it. They have been complacent - in my opinion - and thought badge alone was sufficient to attract old loyal Honda customers. No more. Buyers become smarter. Look at the latest JD reliability survey where Honda used to be in the top 5 but have fallen in ranking steadily. Their MOTOgp bikes were outpaced by Ducati, Aprillia, KTM in last weekend race. After all value for money is important in purchase consideration, something Honda does not have.

Author15

I feel like Honda falling could be a change in their direction. Japanese manufacturers are going for environmental friendly vehicles. Honda calling it quits in F1 is definitely indicating that they have different focus now. But, I also think this could be the last straw for all Japanese Manufacturers to produce a final "gas powered sports car". Excited to see the new Type-R!

16

i slightly disagree with you, civic and accord are still up there and their resell value speeks for itself not to mention the CR-V in te craze of urban / soccer moms SUV SAV or whatever it's called these days it ticks all the right boxes. It's not exciting as before but still can punch, 1 big reason is emmisions control and i think they are thowing a lot of their budget on the non-ICE thechnology.
Regarding the 2 wheeled stuff: all the Japanese manufacturers are 1 step behind currently, the European are back on top after a very long time.

17

key words. "value for money" which Homda does not have. Remember Warren Buffet always buys "valued" stocks.

Author18

Sorry, I don't mean to make Honda sound like they're not making a punch. It's just like you say it's not as exciting as before. Motorsports is in their DNA! I don't doubt they'll bounce back.

19
Kresna Nugraha Susetyo

Awesome shot as always! Good job Rick!

20

The biggest issue with the Thai car scene is the price of the cars. You will pay 2 and 3 times the amount just to get one. Not to mention, even used cars are expensive. Importation is definitely a no-no, as the taxes are 200% of the vehicle's value. If these were not an issue, I would have bought a car there already.

Author21

It's true for most Asian countries, I'm on the same boat if it weren't an issue. Although it does create interesting alternative builds from enthusiasts!

22

Most people don't know, but Thailand has one of the best car scenes in the world.

Author23

Thailand is truly on another level!

24

Awesome photos and Hondas!

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