Nubenta
Men love high performance cars and that is a fact. Whether it’s a plain old carburettor, gas guzzler from the 70s, to the more recent retros like the Mustang, these cars have always had a following. One group, called “Nubenta”, shares their love for 90’s high performance cars by restoring performance cars from the 90s. Just recently, Nubenta started gaining popularity in the net as their Facebook page became a hit amongst car enthusiasts.
I contacted one of the founders of the group, Bryan Pilario, as I wanted to know more about their group. It’s easy to say that the 90s was when a lot of the best performance cars were built and I was lucky enough that Bryan was more than willing to give me a few minutes to explain what Nubenta really is.
The 90s era of performance cars has always captured the attention of car enthusiasts from different walks of life. The exciting comparison of the Mitsubishi Lancer, for example, to the Evolution made the latter very desirable. “They don’t make cars the way they used to in the 90s”, said Pilario. “The lure of nostalgia has never lost its flare. It’s like a time machine, bringing you back to where performance cars were very raw and very powerful for its time. There is a certain feel of the 90s that brings you back to the familiar, simple yet complicated, provoking, rebelliously designed cars. Imagine the 1994 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III, a car that almost has 300+hp, and yet has 4doors, can seat 5 ”, Pilario said.
The group also has members who share the same passion for restoring this 90s unicorns. These members don’t mind the occasional grease in their hands as this is the same magic that has drawn them together. In other words, the common love for these cars has bonded over 30 members to continue the preservation of the 90s high performance cars.
‘Nubenta’, which is in our dialect, Ninety, was formed by a group of friends with the solid support from Cebu’s premiere figureheads in the motoring scene. In the late 2018, talks started in the parking lots, chat rooms and social media, recognizing the need to create a group with the same interests, the same love for the 90s icons.
Nubenta is grounded to the idea that a 90s performance car should be preserved and maintained as well as period correct (restored with parts from the same area). It is also the very same thought that the group wants to promote to the younger generations of Cebu’s car scene, Pilario said.
Cebu has always been a mecca of great motoring gems (should I mention P.A.C.E. who earned a reputation not only in the Philippines but arguably even in the global scene). Cebu, thanks to Japanese Importation of performance cars in the early 2000s, has a good number of these, some that breaks the expectations in car shows – homolagation Rally cars, to limited models and era icons like the Supra and the Skyline, Pilario explains.
“We consider ourselves passionate about cars specifically the 90s but we don’t make car shows. When we meet, it’s just a gathering. We call it a “meet”. It just a gathering of minds, that way, we can share our knowledge of these aging cars. This is useful as we may know a lot about this era, but we don’t know everything. The group also aims to bridge that gap between the young and the old through sharing these interests”, said Pilario.
The group is planning a “meet” in October, 2019. This event usually attracts hundreds of car enthusiast.
I will keep you updated on the plans of the group, but if you want to check out their Facebook, it’s called “NUBENTA”.
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