GUWAHATI: Extraordinary feats can be achieved with skill or as an act of love, and that's exactly what a mechanic from Karimganj set out to do when he re-modeled an old Swift car into a lookalike Lamborghini Squadra Corse SC20.
This extraordinary person then did another extraordinary thing. He has gifted the hand- built car to the person whom he professes to unconditionally love, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The original Lamborghini SC20 is a custom open-top track car approved for road use. This one-off Lamborghini SC20 was created based on the preferences of the customer who commissioned it.
Nurul Haque, a 33-year old car mechanic, said he spent four months and Rs 10.20 lakh which he had saved up, to make the Lamborghini lookalike in his own garage in Karimganj town. Nurul tried to make a similar car last year but it did not turn out as expected. Another year and an additional Rs 4.5 lakh were required to make it a perfect replica of the outrageous Lamborghini, originally built to a customer's specifications. This year's version is white while the 2021 model was yellow in colour.
Sarma received the gift in Silchar on Tuesday, when he went there for the Cabinet meeting. He tweeted, "Also had the thrill of being at the wheel of a 'Lamborghini' assembled by Nurul Haque, a car enthusiast from Karimganj" and posted pictures of him inside the car and talking to Nurul beside the car.
When asked why he gifted the car to Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nurul replied, "Because I like him."
Nurul also said, "When I handed him the car, he blessed me and asked me to bring the car to Guwahati." He further added that he would be driving the car to Guwahati , starting out on Thursday. The usually nine- hour journey is bound to take more than that as Nurul reckoned that several unscheduled stops may have to be made as people would want to pose for a 'selfie' with the car.
About the method used to turn out the car, Nurul said he completely stripped down a second-hand Swift and used a new chassis built on the lines of a similar one to the SC20 but retained the Swift's engine and gear assembly. While the original car body is built of carbon fibre, Nurul used repair sheets made of aluminized steel. Nurul also designed his own seats but used similar wheels and the steering wheel.
He also made copy scissor doors in his creation, which swing up to open vertically rather than opening in an outward position like conventional car doors. However, the hinges are manual, instead of automatic, as in the original car.
Nurul, who left his studies after Class 5, said he has been repairing cars for about 15 years now and loves sports cars, particularly the world-renowned Italian models. On his future plans, he said, "I am planning to make a replica of Ferrari next."
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