Renowned car collector, JP Chin, gives the public a glimpse of his 100-car collection at JPM Museo

Malaysia is a very car-centric nation and we even have our own pair of local brands which bear a certain pride to a lot of us growing up. Outside of the occasional car shows or speed festivals, there are very few museums or permanent places that showcase the country’s automotive history.

There is the tiny National Automotive Museum at the Sepang International Circuit and the National Museum has a small area outside that showed a literal handful of cars but these two are among the well-known but mediocre examples of car museums in the country.

Some might consider Proton’s Centre of Excellence (COE) in Subang Jaya a sort of museum to Malaysia’s first homegrown carmaker but it’s nothing extensive like oversea brands. Then again, Malaysians don’t really show much appreciation for preserving or even gaining knowledge of our history.

Also read: Proton was doing the right thing in disposing its old rally and concept cars, here’s why

Still, one car collector who’s very much known among local automotive enthusiasts for his impressive collection has decided to let the public view some of those wheels in person. JPM Museo is set up by Chin Jit Ping, also known as JP Chin, a man who really needs no introduction and the museum located in Jalan Teknologi, Kota Damansara is one of his latest ventures.

Also read: Is the Perodua Kancil a future classic? Malaysian Bugatti Divo owner JP Chin thinks so

With around 100 cars and bikes in the museum, the collection is just like a real-life Hot Wheels toy box. This is the only museum in the world where you would see a McLaren P1, a 3-wheeled Benz Patent Motorwagen, and a Perodua Kancil all in one place.

Also read: Perodua Kancil vs Proton Saga – Which is the original Malaysian people’s car?

Of course, there are 97 other cars in the museum and each of them has a story to tell. The good folks over at JPM Collections invited some of the media to have a tour while Mr. Chin’s son, Cassius shared stories behind most of the cars on why and how they were obtained.

We were also given the treat to experience the audible V12 roar of a Ferrari 599 and a demonstration on how to start the mighty single-cylinder engine of the first car ever invented. It’s a fascinating history of how far the automotive world has advanced in the past 140 years since Karl Benz fitted an engine to a horseless carriage.

Besides geeking out on the history of cars from a century ago, visitors would also be intrigued to check out some cool movie cars like the DeLorean from Back to the Future with the stainless steel bodywork gleaming and rare models like the Mercedes-McLaren SLR.

The entire museum is divided into different sections, each dedicated to a country like Japan and Italy or a theme like movie cars, motorsports, and historical vintage cars.

JPM Museo will be opened to the public in July and those who are interested in the tour would have to first pre-purchase the JPM Museo Merch Kit on the JPM Lamoda website. The merch kit costs RM 250 per person and comes with a premium goodie bag containing:

• One oversized T-shirt
• One JPM cap
• One Lanyard
• JPM sticker
• JPM Lamoda and F&B vouchers

For the first month of operations, JPM Museo is offering an early bird price of RM 180 for the merch kit inclusive of the tour. JPM Museo currently has 4 upcoming dates for the public which are on 8- and 9-July as well as on 29- and 30-July. There are 3 sessions for each day: 10 am-12 pm, 1 pm-3 pm, and 4 pm-6 pm.

Each tour session is limited to only 20 guests and is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Priority will be given to car groups which are also entitled to a special discount.

If you’re interested in checking out a once-exclusive private collection of 100 cars dating from 1886 to the present, why not check out JPM Museo. It might even be an exciting gathering point for car meet-ups.