Completed project after 13 yrs, spent nearly Rs 15 lakh
Irfan Tramboo
SRINAGAR, June 20: In a bid to enable the commoners to have luxury cars at affordable prices, apart from aiming to make a cut on the energy consumption and the carbon emission, an Engineer from Srinagar has created a solar-powered luxury car after working hard for nearly 13 years.
Mir Bilal, an engineer by profession, who currently teaches mathematics at a local teaching institution, said that after witnessing an increase in the fuel prices, he decided to make a car that runs on solar power by putting in place the necessary technology.
“Initially, I had planned to make a car for disabled people, but then, due to some financial issues, I could not carry the project forward; however, then, in 2009, I took up the project of creating a solar-powered luxury car which I have been able to complete this year,” Bilal said.
Apart from ensuring that the car runs on solar energy, Bilal has made it a point that the car has the looks as well as features of any luxury car available out there.
“The car has got the features at par with other luxury cars while monocrystalline solar panels which generate maximum energy even in the less solar energy have also been used because these are more efficient and occupy a low surface area,” he said.
He said that solar energy is the future and he wanted to contribute his bit towards it. “Also, the car is fully automatic and has gullwing doors to take care of the space constraints,” he said.
So far, on the making of the car, Bilal has spent a total of over Rs 15 lakhs without any financial assistance from any sector. “When I began the project and even after I completed it, no one provided me with any financial assistance; if I would have got the necessary support, perhaps I would have been India’s Elon Musk,” he said.
Throughout the journey of making the car, Bilal has been watching and studying various luxurious cars which were made since 1950.
He said that he also studied engineering and innovator named Delorian who started a company DMC which helped him and equally motivated him to make a car that is luxurious and simultaneously affordable for the common people.
“Cars like Mercedes, Ferrari, and BMW are just a dream for a common person. Only a few people can afford it while it remains a dream for others to drive such cars and roam in them. I thought of something to give a luxurious feel to the people as well,” he said.
The journey so far, he said, has been quite arduous as he said that he started working on the car and modified it by watching the various videos and started adding the features in it. “I have been successful to a great extent; however, I am looking for more modifications to the car with further support from the public as well as the private sector,” he said.
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