The little car that defeated two armies

On display at the MSVCR 70th Anniversary Gala in Kuala Lumpur was one of the most remarkable survivors of Malayan motoring history — Lim Ah Fong’s 1923 Peugeot Quadrilette. This diminutive French car, lovingly preserved by three generations of the Lim family, carries with it an extraordinary wartime story. During the Second World War, it famously defeated two armies: first when the Gurkhas abandoned it after only a day, finding its controls too unconventional, and again when the Japanese occupiers were unable to figure out how to drive it. Hidden and later recovered after the war, the Quadrilette stands today as both a mechanical curiosity and a symbol of quiet resilience — a fitting exhibit for the MSVCR’s 70th year celebration of motoring heritage.