The Subaru Palm Challenge is back for 2012. This annual contest sees hopefuls from across Asia trying to “outpalm” each other to win a Subaru. More than just a physical challenge, but a severe mental one as well, the contest shows how far one will go to win a car.
Last year, Singaporean Chong Kiat Chi, 42, drove home a Subaru Impreza WRX MT Hatchback worth S$92800 (without COE) after 75 hours and 36 minutes in the sun and rain, outlasting 399 contestants. We were at the Lion City to cover the event live – click here to find out what it is all about.
But before The Asian Face Off finals in Singapore, every country will have a round to pick its strongest palmers. The Malaysian leg happens today at The Curve in PJ, where 62 participants are trying to be one of the 10 who will fly down south. They are required to place their right hand on the car, while competing in seven elimination rounds. Once a palm is off/shifted from the allocated space, he or she is out.
Among the challenges are standing on one leg, holding a 500 ml bottle at 90 degrees, balancing a ping-pong ball on a spoon with their mouth, and the hardest one – holding two bottles 90 degrees up while standing on one leg. All this while their right hand is on the car.
I popped by The Curve earlier today to check out the contest, and the palmers appeared to be in high spirits, some even dancing to Oppa Gangnam Style played by the DJ! Besides an all-expense paid trip to Singapore (six days in October) for the finals, each of the 10 Malaysian reps will receive an Orient watch worth RM1,600 and Subaru merchandise. See any familiar faces?
UPDATE: The 10 finalists representing Malaysia in the Asian Face Off are Tan Hong Sheng, Dzul Fadly bin Ismail, Ganesan Thavasimuthu, Chang Wei Khang, Tan Yeo Chian, Tan Chuan Kok, Lee Hoong Kit, Tan Chuan Meng, Chan Hon Ki and Soh Kee Leong. Good luck!
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Not boring meh.. every year do this.. sigh..
Rather pay money to get one !
beli saja sebiji WRX..
at least got warranty if buy..
apa kelas susah2 nak dapat sebiji percuma; nanti road tax/insurance/service/maintenance tak mampu..
hurm…
biasanya practice di Malaysia if kereta tu diberi hadiah..
ITS JUST the kereta with out WARRANTY!
hurm…
just like my neighbour menang BM1 series few years back from Petronas MESRA..
just got the BMW120i new..
BUT NO Warranty..
hurm…
Pity tall guys have to put the palm on the hood. Not ergonomic enough.
of course a real muslim can’t get the car bcz a muslim has to pray 5 time per day. if he’s on travel, he can do jamaq but still not enough to win it.
if a muslim win this, means that that guy not perform his solat.
BTW, how the participant want to pee?
i guess there are times for breaks.
Even le tour de france has ‘pause pour pipi’ – g buang air kecik.
Most faces I saw is tak sembahyang punya type so why bother..car is more important
hahaha good one; nice statement…
true true true..
hurm..
i really salute their perseverance… imagine you can get a brand new car by working for 75 hours non stop… last year the participant won a Sin dollar 100k car…
if i would to work and pay monthly….
it’s a RM 200k car…. monthly installment would be
RM 2000++ non stop for 9 years.. damn…
maybe next time let’s see how many participants will palm a honda EX5. LOL
aside from the physical endurance test, contestants should be mentally tested. otherwise we got fast reckless driver, no brainer even speeding up at zebra crossing. what an attitude?
pity how some people would damage their nerves permanently just because of a normal car. sad case of asian, especially malaysian.
wat to do, in this country car coz a bomb…even Honda Civic also considered luxury here.
hahaha orang honda civic syok sendiri je la..
berangan; baru RM130K (2L) or RM120K (1.8L) sudah angan-angan kaya..
honda its not luxury brand..
unless Acura yang buat then that is luxury..!
Conti among super luxury brands: bentley, rolls royce…
Conti among luxury brands: Audi, BMW, Merc, Volvo..
Jap among luxury brands: Lexus, Acura, Infinity…
don’t simply bash org kalau diri sendiri xpaham ape yg org sampaikan..
being keyboard warrior maaa… :)
biasa la manusia.
dah terbeli; and letak ego di hadapan will say anything/everything is good walaupun pada hakikatnya ianya tak bagus..
They have similar competitions in Vegas, France and Australia. Not just in Malaysia.
when COE is too expensive….this is your only way…
some called it
…physical challenging and mentally perseverance….
some called it
got-nothing-better-to-do
Anyway, its their life, their business.
How to enter this contest anyway?
I propose such contest to subaru. Give all contestant a car. Make them drive on road. The one that committed the least traffic mistakes, ie. signaling (this 1 is the toughest), running red lights, speeding, etc.. will get to keep the car.
I bet this contest is tougher than holding their hands against the car. Who agrees?
Already wale up or still dreaming?
That guy in white T’s at back of the picture (right most) is such a photobomb! LOL!
http://paultan.org/2012/09/08/2012-subaru-palm-challenge-10-malaysians-head-to-singapore-for-the-asian-face-off/20120908_152114/
work 75 hours ( 10 days average person working hours) can get RM250k. that means RM 500k salary per month. higher than even syabas CEO salary!!! so its worth the hard work and suffering!
But Syabas CEO don’t have to suffer this way.
if syabas ceo ‘didnt work hard’ , he might end up in jail next year :p
work 75 hours ( 10 days average person working hours) can get RM250k. that means RM 500k salary per month. higher than even syabas CEO salary!!! so its worth the hard work and suffering!
wow…those who place palm on windscreen are less ‘hot’ than those who place on metal surface such as the bonnet ^^
Scorching heat, storms and also lightning…nature could also make this challenge a very dicey proposition… To the eventual winner, all the agony will be worth it…but for the many who don’t (or can’t score a top 10 finish), they will probably be wondering why they thought they had a shot in the first place…
This should be banned. A lucky draw instead, like human beings. Why see your customers suffer like this, Subaru?
lucky draw..
where got lucky..
sure family member/kroni to Subaru will win; coz all is their name…
:p
Hello.. Subaru family members, suppliers, etc are not allowed to join la.. I’m sure it’s a fair play! ;-)
Everyone have their own way to win a car……contest,luck draw,a gift and etc.At least people won’t say anything bad….WIN IT WITH YOUR OWN PALM…..i respect each of them in the challenge.They brave enough to do it and prove it.Good Luck the Top 10 Malaysia!!!!