This Kochi youngster handmade a Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 from scratch

The Hindu

2 days ago

As we wait for Bibin Chacko outside his house in the interiors of Thiruvaniyur, near Kochi, we spy the hood of a 'car'. The low-slung car, almost grazing the ground, is covered with tarpaulin. That 'handmade car' is Bibin's claim to fame, and one that his father, Chacko TO hopes would get him a job with an automobile company, 'Lamborghini even!' he jokes. Lamborghini because the car Bibin fabricated is a replica of Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4.
Bibin, an employee of the nearby OEN India, is excited about the attention the 'car' has been getting. 'The two things I have not made are the tyres and the engine, which belongs to a Maruti Suzuki 800. Everything else, I made myself,' he says as his proud father looks on. At the time he built the car, he had never seen one in real life.
'I thought I might never be able to own one, so why not build one,' says Bibin, who started building his car when he was in second year of college. The building, in earnest, was the work of three years, says the mechanical engineer who graduated from ToC-H Institute of Science and Technology, Arakkunnam.
His initial resource was the internet, where he found the measurements of the car. 'I then bought the tyres, second hand so that I could start building. This is a scaled version of the original,' he clarifies.
He first chalked the outline of the car, based on the measurements, on the terrace of his house. Then came the chassis, which he built, followed by 8mm metal rods to build the frame, which was then covered with cardboard and fibre plaster. He even cut and welded the metal himself. Initially, the engine he used belonged to an autorickshaw.
There is no windshield yet, the steering wheel, gear shift, instrument cluster and 'seats' are rudimentary, and it needs a coat of paint. When I tell him about the green Porsche 911 I saw in Kochi, Bibin says, 'I wanted the candy red shade, but when I enquired I learnt it is super expensive so now I am undecided about the colour.'
This did not happen in one go, says Chacko. 'It happened over a period of several years. We could not help him financially, but encouraged him in every other way possible.' Bibin smiles, 'Yes, that my parents did. Without their support I could not have indulged in this hobby.'
He bought raw materials with the money, (₹5000) monthly, he earned as a newspaper boy. 'That is why it took time. I have now managed to get sponsors for the alloys!' The material cost came up to around ₹1.25 lakh.
This is also the first car he has driven. 'I just had a two-wheeler license, it is only after this one became 'drive-able' that I got a four wheeler license also. Since we don't have a car, this is also the first one that I have driven.' As the father and son manoeuvre the car out of the gate, Bibin confesses that his driving skills are basic. The car is more of a showpiece now, not meant for the road.
'He has been curious about mechanical things, toys especially as a young kid. Any time we bought him toy cars from the church fairs he would dismantle them. He wanted to know what was inside, and how it worked. This is an extension of that,' says Chacko. Bibin says the workings of mechanical things made him curious as a child and perhaps building this car may have had something to do with that. 'I have always wanted to know how something works, so I took apart toys and phones and put them back together.'
Bibin has not decided what he intends to do with his car. There have been enquiries about it from individuals asking if it is for sale, then there have been enquiries about if he could fabricate another, 'I am not sure what I want to do. First, I want to complete the car. I wouldn't mind taking it as part of shows to other cities…I have not decided. Let's see!'
So has he seen a Lamborghini Huracan in real life? 'Yes, in 2024 when someone came in the car for a function at a nearby college!'
Bibin has documented the entire process on his YouTube channel BC CUSTOMS (@bibinchacko326)