Moses Ngobeni is very protective of his
slick roadster which took him three years to build. The car’s electronic
system is connected to his cellphone. He can start the engine
remotely.
It also automatically starts its engine when the battery is running
low.
The red two-seater monster powered by a
BMW 318is engine had never left Ngobeni’s village until last week, and
it caused him a few headaches.
Ngobeni, 41, had hired a tow truck to
transport the car last week to a police station in Venda to have its
chassis number engraved and registered – to kickstart the process of
certifying the car with the traffic department and the National
Regulatory of Compulsory Specification (NRCS).
The driver of the truck was so impressed
with Ngobeni’s beast that he took pictures and posted them on Facebook.
The post was shared more than 5000 times on the social network.
“Within an hour of those pictures going
online I received several calls from strangers including journalists who
asked for interviews, but I turned them down because the car was not
finished yet,” he said from his lavish home.
“I didn’t want to draw unnecessary
attention. As an African, I know some people might get jealous and use
‘things’ to prevent this car from being completed.”
Ngobeni, a married father of three and
employed as an municipal electrical technician in Mpumalanga, has
already spent more than R200000 to realise his childhood dream. He
started assembling the car in 2013.
He imported the 2015 Nissan GTR Skyline tail-lights for R18000, and spent R4400 for side mirrors and sound-proofing material.
He designed the body from metal sheets he bought locally and designed the interior. He painted the outside red.
The 2-litre engine, which was stripped
off a BMW he bought specifically for its engine and gearbox, has a
maximum speed of 250km/h. The front lights are from an Audi TT coupé he
owned.
The electronic system is connected to
his cellphone. He can start the engine remotely. It also automatically
starts its engine when the battery is running low.
The sports car runs on 18-inch tyres and is fitted with a computer screen and airbags.
Other features include aerodynamics
which are solid plane-like wings that automatically come out of the
sides to stabilise the vehicle during emergency braking .
He started drawing sketches of his car in 1994 as a 19-year-old electrical engineering student.
“From the age of seven I told myself
that one day I’d build myself a car. I grew up loving sports cars even
though nobody in Giyani could afford one.”
His next dream is to build a helicopter
Check out this short clip on the Car:
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