Leepu's sports car steals the show
Shahriar Robin
The only Bangladeshi car designer working in Bangladesh Nizamuddin Awlia Leepu stole the show yesterday unveiling a sports car at the Motor Show in Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre. The M26 named after the Independence Day of Bangladesh was uncovered before a roaring crowd at the F1 stall in the Motor Show. People in hundreds were seen eagerly waiting for hours before the unveiling ceremony began. The car as usual was made from an older car's chassis. Traces of the 22-year-old Toyota Sprinter could not be seen at all as the car had gone trough a major makeover. The four-seater car was made a coupe and given a scarlet paint. The entire car was built in just four weeks. "I am amazed at my own work, I never thought I would be able to do this in just 28 days," Leepu said while talking to The Daily Star. At the unveiling ceremony Bernie Fineman, a veteran who has worked in the motor trade for 48 years, thanked Leepu and his team for the cooperation and the hard work they put in building the rear-wheel-drive car. Bernie has worked for renowned companies like Rolls Royce and Jaguar and he provided the engine powering the M26. Unlike Leepu's earlier works this car has an almost new power plant. The 1.8 litre 7K Toyota engine produced 84 brake horsepower (BHP) but Bernie tuned the engine to produce 42 more BHPs. Bernie told The Daily Star, "I have really enjoyed working with Leepu and he deserved this recognition five years ago." While talking about the car's good looks he said," People would throng the streets of London if the car was taken there." Leepu has been working closely with Discovery Channel as part of their series on him working on different kinds of vehicles without advanced equipment or computers as the automotive industry is now so used to. Bruce Fletcher the producer of the programme told The Daily Star yesterday Discovery Channel is initially shooting for two TV programmes with Leepu working on two different cars on two shows. "We are shooting for the second programme where Leepu is working on the second car," he said adding "the second car will be unveiled soon at the Old-Car show to be held at the National Museum."
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