By Geoffrey Eu

DRIVING 1,800 kilometres in three days across the length and breadth of Malaysia may not be everyone's idea of a good time - especially if you're wary of driving conditions across the border - but then it's all a matter of perspective. Throw a famous watch brand, a lineup of high-performance cars and a finely tuned itinerary into the equation, and the prospect begins to look a lot more inviting.

Still, less than two weeks after a well-publicised incident involving a Singapore-registered Ferrari, a rogue Mercedes and a disturbing case of highway robbery, the Franck Muller Super Car Tour, a motoring event conceived and organised by luxury retailer Sincere Watch for its car-enthusiast customers from Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, could easily be construed as being high profile mistake - or a victim of bad timing. Political tension in Malaysia also threatened to dampen the mood. In the end, though, it turned out to be memorable for all the right reasons.

Timed to coincide with the build-up to this weekend's Formula One race, over 30 cars, including six shipped in from Hong Kong, took part in the event last week, driving from Singapore to Terengganu on Malaysia's East Coast, across to the hill resort of Cameron Highlands and back down again to Singapore. Overnight stops were at YTL-owned properties Tanjong Jara Resort and the Cameron Highlands Resort.

On the starting grid at the Shangri-La Hotel were a brightly liveried collection of supercars decked out in pure Franck Muller style, including Porsche Turbos and GT3s, Ferrari 430s, Lamborghini Gallardos, Nissan GT-Rs, Audi R8s, an Aston Martin DB9 and a Mercedes CLK-DTM. Several Ferrari owners pulled out of the drive due to concerns over their safety but there were a number of interesting representatives nevertheless, including a rare 430 Scuderia belonging to Genting scion Lim Chee Wah, who is based in Hong Kong, and a tasty 575 Maranello belonging to Malaysian property developer Datuk Azizi.

Support vehicles and technical back-up were provided by Lamborghini, Lotus and Alfa dealer Eurosports Auto as well as by BMW dealer Performance Motors, while the organisers also enlisted veteran motoring enthusiasts to help with the route, safety and planning aspects of the trip. In Malaysia, meanwhile, local police worked with a crew of Singapore bikers to clear traffic and pull off an almost flawless event.

"We've been wanting to do this for a long time," says Tay Liam Wee, group MD of Sincere Watch and a motoring enthusiast as well. "We had a Singapore to KL car event with Franck Muller in 1995, and we were getting a lot of enquiries about organising another one. There's a lot more interest now, nicer cars and the whole idea was simply to bring customers together to have some fun."

Mr Tay says the challenge for the organisers was to confine the event to three days while giving participants a comprehensive driving experience with an interesting mix of roads and conditions. "What was important was we got fellow enthusiasts to help with the route - we did two full recce trips," he says. "Franck Muller left it pretty much up to us to build and promote the brand and with a supercar rally, we didn't have to try very hard to convince our customers to take part. Muller designs watches with a sense of fun - they are natural conversation pieces."

Kevin Chau, chairman of Sincere Watch Hong Kong and a serious car enthusiast who brought his Mercedes CLK-DTM convertible - one of 100 made - to the event, says: "In Hong Kong, there's no place to drive - the only place is in China but that's getting more difficult now, and there are also no nice places to stay overnight." He points to the owner of a Ferrari 430 Spyder. "This is the first time in one and a half years that he's been able to try it out properly - it gives us a chance to test the level of control of their cars."

Adds Mr Chau: "We are not slaves to our cars - when we buy cars, we want to drive them. A lot of drives are organised by car clubs and feature one brand only. On this one you can take whatever car you want, swap cars with fellow drivers and so on. We don't like to go on a race track because it's boring - we prefer different road conditions and enjoying the scenery." Driving cars to the limit meant there were a few casualties during the course of the trip. Malaysian businessman and car collector JP Chin was the hands-down winner in this category, with a DB9 (wheel alignment), a 430 Spyder (gearbox) and a replacement GT3 (accident) all making a premature exit from the rally.

Still, Mr Chin was unperturbed by the thought of impending repair bills. "It's been a fantastic and well-organised event - we should have one every year," he says. "What I like about it is travelling in a well-coordinated convoy." Singapore entrepreneur Timothy Chia, who took part in his Aston Martin DB9, agreed. "All the creature comforts and details from A to Z were taken care of, and we all enjoyed each other's company - as long as there's a common theme, whether it is cars, sailing or horseracing, the ice is automatically broken." David Lai, a retired private equity fund manager and amateur racer who will be driving in the Porsche Carrera Cup and Aston Martin Cup support races this weekend, says: "The combination of high-speed highways and long, twisty roads is very rare - this is one of the most interesting drives because of all the different makes involved."

At a post-event dinner in Singapore, Franck Muller urged Sincere boss Mr Tay to make it an annual event. "Selling watches is a passion, making watches, promoting your brand," says Muller. "At the same time, you have other passions, and cars are very close to watches. This event is a good opportunity to bring the two together."

He adds: "This is the right way to represent the Franck Muller brand, especially with F1 coming up in Singapore. We are one of the major brands in the market in terms of innovation, sales, and we will continue what we started." Says Mr Tay: "If we make more money next year maybe we'll do one in Europe, and that will be even more fun - but first we have to make more money."

This article was first published in The Business Times on Sept 27, 2008.