image source, SUHAILSHAHEEN/@TWITTER
“When US and allied forces were camped at Bagram Air Base in Kabul, huge lights used to be lit at night. I dreamed that one day I would drive my car to that air base.”
“It seemed like a dream to me and I had no hope that it would come true. But now it has come true. The Taliban government in Afghanistan displayed my car at Bagram Air Base, and my car is flooded with light, just like I dreamed.”
This dream belongs to Muhammad Raza Ahmadi, an engineer from Kabul. He designed his first ‘supercar’ in war-torn Afghanistan.
His video message is on the social media page of a local design studio called Entop. The car was designed by Entop Car Design Studio in collaboration with Afghanistan Institute of Technology and Vocational Education.
Attempts were made to speak to Muhammad Raza Ahmadi over phone, but his secretary said he would reply later, but so far there has been no communication from his side. As there is no automobile manufacturing industry in Afghanistan yet, we wanted to know from him how he got the idea to build this supercar and where he got the technology and components for it.
A team of 10 to 12 people was involved in preparing the vehicle, Muhammad Raza Ahmadi’s secretary said over phone. It is said to be a prototype sports car and is powered by a Toyota engine.
image source, Getty Images
40 to 50 thousand dollars spent so far’
Maulvi Ghulam Haider Shahamad, Afghanistan’s head of education and technical education, spoke to the BBC by phone from Afghanistan. He then said that the work on this vehicle has been going on for five years, that is, the work on this was started in the previous government, but this work was not completed and the car was manufactured after the Taliban came to power.
He said that only 50 percent of the work was done before this, and when the Islamic regime was established in Afghanistan, Muhammad Raza Ahmadi contacted his organization 8 months ago and started implementing it and now a lot of work has been done. It was finished, but the interior work was incomplete.
“The vehicle has cost between $40,000 and $50,000 so far,” he said, adding that the interior design and finishing will cost more.
He said that he will try to prepare this car and showcase it to the world and show the progress and bright future of Afghanistan.
It has been reported that the Afghan government is also trying to make this vehicle participate in the auto exhibition to be held in Qatar this year.
When the vehicle was displayed…
Although pictures and some videos of the vehicle surfaced on social media in November last year, it was showcased in Afghanistan only a few days ago.
Suhail Shaheen, nominated as the representative of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to the United Nations, tweeted three days ago. An Afghan engineer tweeted about the performance of the vehicle. He also requested all the youth of the country to play their role for the development of Afghanistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid, head of Afghanistan’s information department, praised the work.
Many people on social media appreciated this work and said that there are such talented people in a country where war has been going on for 40 years.
On the other hand, many critics say that the components in this vehicle are basically products of other automakers or modified and that Afghanistan should try to manufacture the parts in their country.
A video of the vehicle’s production has also been posted on the social media pages of Muhammad Raza Ahmadi and his partner company Entop, showing how the main parts and accessories of the vehicle are made.
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