This home-grown magazine started its thrilling 25-year “road trip” in 1990, at the Singapore International Motor Show in the former World Trade Centre. It was a good start, too, with the inaugural issue selling like hot kueh.
And it wasn’t only because of the excellent articles in the colourful 80-page periodical – Paul Wee, the founder/editor, hired a bunch of blue-eyed, blonde teenage students from the Singapore American School to sell the mag at the motor show, and taught them to shout in Hokkien, “Buay jit poon, sung jit poon!” (buy one copy, get one free!).
Things moved quickly for Torque in the first decade. It boarded the corporate bandwagon when MPH bought the title, the content and design went from strength to strength, and the bi-monthly became a monthly. The quick tempo continued in Torque’s second decade, with the mag setting the pace for editorial quality, cover-to-cover readability/relevance and opinion leadership.
Torque is now halfway through its third decade as Singapore’s most authoritative motoring magazine. The terrific Torque team still has its big foot pressed firmly on the power pedal, accelerating ahead with passion and purpose. Torque’s epic “road trip” since 1990 shall go on and on.