Photo: YouTube / Sudus Custom
Here is the feel-good, inspirational story of 2020 (so far): a 28-year-old man from India who never finished high school and works a full-time job was able to build his dream car from scratch. He’s never seen a Volkswagen Beetle in real life, for what it’s worth.
Rakesh Babu lives in Cherthala in Southern India, NewsFlare reports. He dropped out of school and started working to support himself and his family, but he never forgot his childhood dream: that of driving a Volkswagen Beetle one day. He saw the Bug in a movie when he was a kid and fell in love with it.
Babu realized that he wouldn’t be able to afford it, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. Literally. At the time he started building the car for himself, he had never seen a Beetle in real life – and probably still hasn’t as of the time press. He used his photo collection and YouTube tutorials to become familiar with the design and the process of putting it together, and got started.
It took him 6 months of working at the end of his shift, almost £450 / $533 and a lot of scrap metal to put it together, but it’s done. And it’s the cutest thing ever.
Smaller than the original Bug, Babu’s homemade Beetle has a chassis built entirely by hand and a handcrafted body made of metal sheets. Inside, mounted in the rear, there’s a two-stroke motorcycle engine from an old Suzuki Samurai, to which Babu added a reverse gear. On his channel, Sudus Custom, Babu says his vehicle is very fuel efficient, yielding a maximum of 30 km per liter.
The wheels are from a tuk tuk, as are the headlights. To avoid further draining the battery, he used aftermarket LED lights. The bumper is from a motorcycle crash guard and the windshield is made of polycarbonate sheet. The mirrors are from a TVS Fiero FX motorcycle, while the door handles are from an Ambassador car. Everything else is made by hand.
The two-seater has blue interior lights but no other added bells and whistles. The holes in the floor through which you can see the road probably work as AC just as well.
Babu says he loves his Beetle very much, and you can tell by the happy smile on his face when he’s driving it. However, he’s already thinking of his new project: he will be building a Lamborghini next.
Babu realized that he wouldn’t be able to afford it, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. Literally. At the time he started building the car for himself, he had never seen a Beetle in real life – and probably still hasn’t as of the time press. He used his photo collection and YouTube tutorials to become familiar with the design and the process of putting it together, and got started.
It took him 6 months of working at the end of his shift, almost £450 / $533 and a lot of scrap metal to put it together, but it’s done. And it’s the cutest thing ever.
Smaller than the original Bug, Babu’s homemade Beetle has a chassis built entirely by hand and a handcrafted body made of metal sheets. Inside, mounted in the rear, there’s a two-stroke motorcycle engine from an old Suzuki Samurai, to which Babu added a reverse gear. On his channel, Sudus Custom, Babu says his vehicle is very fuel efficient, yielding a maximum of 30 km per liter.
The wheels are from a tuk tuk, as are the headlights. To avoid further draining the battery, he used aftermarket LED lights. The bumper is from a motorcycle crash guard and the windshield is made of polycarbonate sheet. The mirrors are from a TVS Fiero FX motorcycle, while the door handles are from an Ambassador car. Everything else is made by hand.
The two-seater has blue interior lights but no other added bells and whistles. The holes in the floor through which you can see the road probably work as AC just as well.
Babu says he loves his Beetle very much, and you can tell by the happy smile on his face when he’s driving it. However, he’s already thinking of his new project: he will be building a Lamborghini next.
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