We know him as one of the all-time greatest precision drivers who’s been at it longer than Ken Block. Some of you may recall his exploits on YouTube where he re-created the scene from a Ryan O’Neal movie called ‘The Driver’, in which Russ attempts to inflict as much damage as possible to a car and yet still keep it drivable.
Russ made his last stop in his tour in Malaysia in Johor recently to wow residents with his astonishing skills in precision driving. Motor Image Malaysia, the official distributor of Subaru in Malaysia, gave residents of Johor the opportunity to witness the skills of world-renowned British precision driver Russell Swift, who has electrified crowds around the world with his repertoire of gravity-defying car stunts. Russ Swift awed the Johoreans during the Johor Bahru leg, the last leg of the Subaru Russ Swift Tour, after Subang Jaya, Bukit Mertajam and Ipoh, as part of ongoing efforts to raise awareness of Subaru and showcase the core technologies of the Japanese automobile marque.
Nearly 10,000 Malaysians from the northern and central region witnessed Russ Swift during his tour, with some fans catching him in action in 2 regions. “I am very pleased to be here on this tour, sharing my passion for precision driving with Malaysians for the first time. It has been a joy driving the Subaru cars, fitted with boxer engines which gives better stability hence the handling precision with the Subaru cars has made my driving experience smoother and much more enjoyable. The enthusiasm shown by the Malaysian fans has been a great delight, and I hope to share precision driving with more Malaysians next year,” said Russ Swift.
Russ Swift entertained the crowd at the Angsana Johor Bahru Mall with stunt manoeuvres using a range of Subaru vehicles, covering stunts such as Reverse Spins/Parallel Parking – parallel parking in the shortest amount of time taken, Doughnuts – spinning a car around in one spot for ten complete revolutions, Two-Wheeling – balancing a car on its driver’s side wheels and the Dance Routine – choreographed routine made of exciting spins. The Johor stop marks the end of the Subaru Russ Swift Tour with its debut in Petaling Jaya, followed by phenomenal shows in Penang and Ipoh.
Russ Swift holds a Guinness World Record for parallel parking, and was a two-time British Autotest Champion and England Autotest Team Captain in 1982 and 1983. In 2004, he set a Guinness World Record for making 10 complete spins with a car (also known as Doughnuts) in just 16.07 seconds – a mere 1.6 seconds for each complete spin.
This is the first time Russ Swift is here in Malaysia performing in a Subaru and he has wowed Subaru fans across Southeast Asia namely in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.
