Indian mechanic builds his own Volkswagen Beetle from scratch to fulfil childhood dream
- 4 years ago
Rakesh Babu, 28, had a childhood dream to own a Volkswagen Beetle.
The man from Cherthala in Southern India had seen the car in an Indian movie when he was a small boy.
But Rakesh, who failed in 10th grade and works as a mechanic, could not afford it. So seven months ago he decided to build one himself.
Rakesh Babu had never seen the car in real life, so he collected photos of the car from different angles to plan the design. He watched YouTube videos on how to build a car.
He crafted the body of the car with his hands using metal sheets and took the wheels from a tuk-tuk. The custom-made chassis supports a two-stroke motorcycle engine, to which Rakesh added a reverse gear.
The rear-mounted engine can be started by ignition or kickstart. The car is fuel-efficient, yields a maximum of 30 km/l.
The two-seater vehicle is smaller than the original Beetle, but with its polished finish can fool anyone not familiar with the vehicle.
Rakesh took six months to build his car working in the evenings after his day job and finished it early this month. He spent Rs 40,000 (£430) on his project.
Rakesh loves his Beetle but wants to build a Lamborghini next.
The man from Cherthala in Southern India had seen the car in an Indian movie when he was a small boy.
But Rakesh, who failed in 10th grade and works as a mechanic, could not afford it. So seven months ago he decided to build one himself.
Rakesh Babu had never seen the car in real life, so he collected photos of the car from different angles to plan the design. He watched YouTube videos on how to build a car.
He crafted the body of the car with his hands using metal sheets and took the wheels from a tuk-tuk. The custom-made chassis supports a two-stroke motorcycle engine, to which Rakesh added a reverse gear.
The rear-mounted engine can be started by ignition or kickstart. The car is fuel-efficient, yields a maximum of 30 km/l.
The two-seater vehicle is smaller than the original Beetle, but with its polished finish can fool anyone not familiar with the vehicle.
Rakesh took six months to build his car working in the evenings after his day job and finished it early this month. He spent Rs 40,000 (£430) on his project.
Rakesh loves his Beetle but wants to build a Lamborghini next.