SINGAPORE – On the top floor of Singaporean content creator and beauty entrepreneur Naomi Neo’s bungalow in western Singapore sits a room filled with things that make her happy: more than 100 model cars, a custom retro arcade machine and, most recently, a racing simulator worth about $10,000.
When her family moved into the three-storey house in end-2022, this open area contained little more than a sofa.
It was part of a living level in the multi-generational home she shares with her businessman husband, their two children – son Kyzo, eight, and daughter Zyla, five – and her in-laws.
Then Neo’s model-car collection started growing.
“I had a bunch of toy cars displayed here and there, and (there was) a bit more day by day,” she says. “I was like, okay, it’s time to actually create a space.”
Naomi Neo’s car memorabilia in her playroom number more than 100 pieces.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Today, it is the 30-year-old’s favourite area in her eight-room abode, although “calling it ‘my space’ may be a stretch, as Kyzo’s toy cars have found their way upstairs”. The toy cars have become part of her display collection – but on the floor, she says with a laugh.
Cars have been in Neo’s orbit since her childhood. Her father was a Formula 1 fan, and she remembers attending her first F1 race at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit with him and her late grandfather when she was younger than 10.
Like her dad, Neo is a Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team supporter, although she admits to feeling a bit conflicted since her favourite driver, Briton Lewis Hamilton, moved to Ferrari.
“I’m a Lewis fan, but I support Mercedes,” she says. “Team-wise, still Mercedes.”
Neo plans to attend the Singapore Grand Prix, which will be held in October. She says she has not missed the Singapore race for about five years.
Naomi Neo with her racing car simulator worth about $10,000.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Her interest in cars really took off only after she got her driving licence in 2018.
“In the past, my liking used to be about the aesthetics,” she says. “In the last two to three years, it’s transitioned more into the drive – how it feels.”
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