Melbourne’s car scene can be quiet at times, seeming like it goes into hibernation with months sometimes passing between car shows and events that are worth noting on your calendar. Rewind to the last weekend of April and Melbourne was the worst place to be for a young car enthusiast. Not only did you have the option of visiting Calder Park Raceway for the Australian Drift Grand Prix for a full day of intense drift battles with demo runs from top international drivers for the Formula Drift event, you also had the Mighty Car Mod boys in town hosting a very large car meet! Competing with all of this were the new kids on the block… 100MM and their car show/festival ‘Certified’.


100MM is a group of like-minded individuals who wanted to create an outlet for people to share their passions and love for those pieces of metal that roll on four wheels, you might call them cars but to these guys they’re so much more!
The problem is that generally car shows don’t work, they often exclude people based on preferences, individual tastes and can have a bad stigma attached to them which can separate the car scene and send some enthusiasts running in the opposite direction.
So in a day and age where the term “hoon” is thrown around far too much to discriminate and label car enthusiasts as wanton criminals in the public eye, with countless articles popping up in the media every week you could be forgiven for thinking that modified car owners are one of the largest problems in Australia and contribute the most to our roads death tolls… This is of course not the case and it still remains that drink driving, speeding and fatigue are the biggest killers for drivers on our roads.

So what the team behind 100MM have done is nothing short of amazing with this event and although the ideas were simple, it was possible that they had set themselves up to fail. Were the ideas maybe too big for their first attempt?
A car show right in the heart of the city with breathtaking views, live music, a large selection of food trucks, access for the general public to see modified car owners in a new light to help repair their damaged public image and of course to unite car enthusiasts from all sorts of different walks.

Did it work? You bet! Huge crowds and top quality cars all made this a very special day for Victorian car fans.
While it was predominantly a Japanese/European affair there were quite a few stand-out rides from the low rider scene and even a muscle car or two!
This Ford F-Truck was one of our favorites from the show, whilst stationary the airbag suspension had the truck literally resting its’ belly on the ground!!

The exact location was a central park area known as Birrarung Marr. With months of planning and a heap of permits cleared, the green light was given and the entry forms started pouring in from people wanting to be part of the experience.
NSW car crew, House of Stance came down in great numbers to park alongside some of Melbourne’s iconic sculptures and wow onlookers with static suspension and crazy wheel fitment.

One of the hero’s of the show was this picture perfect Ferrari F40, it looked just as good in person as it does on the poster in my bedroom!

As well as plenty of singular entries there were quite a few groups/clubs who entered together.

Melbourne crew and exhaust gasket specialists Frush rallied the troops to bring a heap of old school JDM inspired rides. The team took out best club display on the day too!

Infamous Melbourne MX-5 owner Lon broke necks with her cars’ latest transformation, now with an all out track warrior approach we’re hoping to see Lon out at the track backing up that massive wing with some very minuscule lap times!

Now here is something you don’t see everyday and never at a car show! A clean as hell R32 four door!

We loved everything about this car and the lip spoiler just finished it off perfectly!

This Corolla was a sight for sore eyes. The last time we ran into this little guy was at the Classic Japan show that was hosted here in Melbourne.

The KE25 is a perfect combo of looks and performance. The owner has finished every modification with a meticulous level of detail that doesn’t take away from the cars original charm or body lines.

The one thing that linked all these cars together were the wheels. The owners of many would be considered wheel aficionados and fake wheels are a big no no at a show like this so there were plenty of rare, beautiful and exotic wheels on display…

There were even some wheels for sale with a full display setup from the boys at Tyre Power.

Sitting next to the wheel display was this pristine R8, attracting a lot of stares from the crowd.

Another House of Stance car to make the journey down from Sydney was Chook’s Lexus GS300 and surprisingly the car drove down exactly as you see it here… No trailer queens here!!

There were a healthy amount of Skylines on show of course, but being one of the most popular Japanese cars there were bound to be an abundance of them.

They ranged from simple street cruisers, to subtle track-ready versions. This one was hiding some Project Mu brake discs behind some sporty looking Advan Racing RS wheels.

Then there were the ones that went all out, with this white R34 sporting a Z tune bonnet and matching fenders to make it one very striking looking Skyline.

Michael from Sydney based blog ‘The-Lowdown.com‘ brought his internet famous widebody Evo down to give many a chance to see it first hand in the flesh. Crowned as one of the hero cars of the event, it was one of the highest quality cars on show!

Just a snap shot of some people enjoying the show from the a very exclusive vantage point. Why not set up camp in the back of one of the show cars?!

Feeding the crowd on the day, there was a small army of food trucks offering a range of food that was just as diverse as the people that call Melbourne home.

Someone must have left the bat signal on because old mate Batman made a surprise visit. Tt seemed rather fitting to have the bat mobile on show given that Melbourne was originally founded by a man named John Batman… (Gripshiftslide not just about pretty cars, we teach stuff too!).

Scattered around the show were relics of the shows of yesteryear, like full entertainment systems with custom trimmed interiors.

There was also a throwback to the old Autosalon days, ‘JDMCOP’ is a car that has seen its’ fair share of shows in it’s time. Some might not enjoy it, but just five years ago this was cutting edge!

It wasn’t all just tyre shine and polish, there was also plenty of performance oriented rides. Everywhere you looked, there was a popped bonnet or two showing of a plethora of ‘go fast’ bits and pop up parts.

This Toyota Corolla Wagon from the Frush crew stole our hearts. We hope to see it out and about at future shows/events!

One of the biggest surprises of the show was owner of DT Panels Vu and his seemingly overnight makeover of his infamous track attack S15, part of the newly formed time attack crew Nakama. His S15 had become known for its cream coloured paint and just as it was getting more and more people recognising it, it has been transformed with a striking gold/blue paint job. Photos seriously don’t do this paintwork justice, you simply have to see it with your own eyes!!

Food, people and cars. A true recipe for success if planned and prepared to the highest of standards. 100MM pulled it off without a hitch and the show has done wonders for the whole car community and united car lovers not just from Melbourne but all over Australia!
Schedules permitting we would love to be involved with the next show and bring our own team of cars along for the fun!
Until then, thanks for reading.
– Gwyn.
Photos: Adrian Brinduse | MK3 Productions
 

The boys behind The Lowdown.com and Sydney’s uber successful car show ‘Showcased‘ decided to go from one extreme to another.
They’ve gone from organising one of the most hyped and planned events on the calendar to one of the most casual street car meets in recent history.
Their previous work with the Showcased car show saw a multi level car park in Sydney’s CBD get closed off and then filled with the best cars from all over. With months and months of planning in the lead up to the big day and then with less than 48 hours notice, the team decided to get everyone together and opted for something a bit more ‘low’ key.


The invitational flyer was posted on Facebook just two days before the proposed meet.
The grass-roots nature and ‘everyone is welcome’ vibe spread far and wide within the 48 hour window and the turnout was fantastic to say the least!

Hundreds of people came down for some much needed mid-week stress relief. There were cars coming and going from 7pm till 11pm, so  the crowd was shrinking and then just as quickly again growing with each hour.

The quality of cars was amazing but the real surprise was just the atmosphere that came from such a laid back approach to the meet.

Some standout cars included this simple black R35…

And the Dixcel/Garage 88 FD Civic also came out to visit!

The Acquired Taste Evo’s sitting pretty together.

This one in particular has been bouncing around the interwebs for a few months now. We are proud to see an Aussie car getting so much love around the globe… Although another local Evo tops this one in the E-fame department.

Ladies and gentleman, ZOMAYA!! This wide body creation by The Lowdown team member Michael has been stirring the lower regions of young men and women everywhere!
There are countless images of this being shared all over the web every day and we can see why!!!

A glimpse of the 200+ car turnout!

A testament to the healthy fitment scene in NSW – this is the perfect street car.
Not stupid expensive, just nice wheels and a bit of power… Perfect!

Creative lanyard placement, although we’re not sure how well it will go if it needs a tow.

Chooks’ Lexus drops jaws and panties everywhere it goes!
We hope the success of these back to basics car meets kick off a ‘less is more’ approach to the car scene. With more and more blogs/organisations popping up, everyone is trying to out do each other with each and every event but at what cost?
Keep meets fun, casual and most importantly accessible to everyone!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.
Photos by Nicholas Truong | SB Captures