[Atul Kolekar]

Really impressed with what you have achieved so far considering you are working alone. I'm sure this post kindled many aspirations and would reignite many amongsts this inthusiastic lot.

For a while I'm too thinking about what class of vehicle would be most suitable to achive commercial success for a beginer / novice company. My ideal would be of a laidback GT or a 2 door 5 seater convertible with ample space for occupants like landyacth.

Anyway enough drooling about, I think your idea of creating an ecosystem for likeminded car builders with EV architecture is a very commendable one. EV's open up the whole world of possibilities now because of their ease of moduler components relatively simple assemblage. Hope to see more development in this project soon.

My suggestion would be to look into recruting like minded subject experts as soon as financially possible to take this project and vision forward. Often times we look at the success stories and overlook the importance of teamwork.

[SRK]

Congratulations Sumeet on your impressive achievements! I wish you all the best for the future.

Is there a particular reason you chose this supercar design? Considering the effort you're putting in, why not create a unique design of your own? For inspiration, check out the Vazirani Shul concept, which was also conceptualized in India.

Additionally, I suggest finalizing the platform design first. Focus on the placement of the motors and battery to maximize space utilization and improve driving dynamics. Once that's set, you can design the exterior shell accordingly.

Where are you building this prototype? I'd love to see it in person if possible.

[PreludeSH]

Great praiseworthy effort. I would echo SRK and would like to see something unique with some Indian design elements. Get inspired by something very Indian. I know its easy for me to say. But you know better.

Because most hyper cars look almost similar and may have to have sharper angular lines for aerodynamics. What if its smoother with gaps inside to handle the wind ?

[startupdaddyy]

Hello again,

Thank you all for your valuable support and advice. As I'm a newbie to the forum, I'm currently only able to see direct messages but not reply to them. Please include a method of contact as well.

#Continuing the Journey

Let's continue the story from where I left off. After registering the private limited company, I started my journey to understand why India doesn't have a supercar brand. If I wanted to create a supercar brand, I needed to know about the market, the problems, and the process and get some guidance from industry experts. I also needed to understand why well-established Indian car makers don't even try to build a supercar for India.

#Meeting Chunky Vazirani

First, I contacted the man behind the beautiful Vazirani Shul, Mr. Chunky Vazirani. I met him and asked about his vision and his work. He shared his journey with me, explaining that the Shul was never part of a grand plan. It was a spontaneous project that came together about three months before the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed. He got an opportunity to present something at the Michelin Tyres stand, so he decided to build a prototype of the Shul, a design he had worked on during his college days in California.

Chunky had to build the entire prototype in just three months, without any existing setup. The prototype was milled from blocks of material called tooling board (those in automotive design will be familiar with this). He used every "jugaad" (innovative fix) possible, including using tarpaulins to build a makeshift paint booth.

In the end, Chunky said something that stuck with me forever: the three months spent building the prototype were so stressful that he never wanted to relive those days. This was a sobering realization—that the Shul was not going to become a reality. Chunky is a brilliant automotive designer, but being an entrepreneur requires walking a path made of fire, and not everyone is willing to take that risk.

#My Takeaway

I personally loved the design of the Shul. It was made to global standards, but the harsh reality of turning a beautiful design into a market-ready supercar in India was evident.

After meeting Chunky Vazirani, I reached out to many industry veterans and experts for guidance. I learned a lot about the harsh realities of building an automotive brand in India, especially without deep pockets to spend.

#Meeting Shashi Vyas

I travelled to Ahmedabad to meet Shashi Vyas, an ambitious aerospace engineer from the UK who launched an electric sports car in India in 2014 under the brand Supernova Electric Vehicles (SNEV). Team-BHP has an article about it as well.(https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...sportscar.html (The curious case of Gujarat's 'green sportscar'))
He even sent one of his models to ARAI for testing. I wanted to understand why, despite his impressive work, he couldn't bring his car into production and why people were unaware of his efforts.

Here are some pictures of my visit to his workshop.

#Researching the DC Avanti

Next, I delved into the story of the DC Avanti, the company that actually made it into production but eventually failed. I did deep research and met with a few former DC employees. I learned about the harsh realities and practical challenges behind those cool-looking supercars.
There were so many attempts, like mean metal motors, etc.

#Studying Pravaig Dynamics

I also studied another promising EV startup, Pravaig Dynamics from Bangalore, which is struggling to survive and facing a lot of criticism. Some people call it a scam, while others appreciate their efforts. But my question remains: even if they launch a car, will Indians buy it? Is building a car enough to survive in the Indian market? Absolutely not.



India is not for beginners. It has shown this to many international brands. To survive in the Indian market, we not only have to build a car but also deliver some added value. Take Tesla, for example; in its initial days, it survived because it became a status symbol despite poor build quality and unreliability. Rimac survived by selling EV technology to other big car makers. Maruti thrives on reliability, low maintenance, and good service. On the other hand, Tata survives due to its build quality, even with poor service.


The questions I faced were: What value and expertise are we going to offer? Why will people accept and trust us as a newbie brand? And most importantly, why would investors fund us? Building an EV scooter startup is easier compared to a sports car startup. Even with billions of dollars in funding, Ola is struggling with reliability and service. Most major supercar brands almost went bankrupt and were sold multiple times.

The conclusion was that even before making a product, we need to build a company that can survive at least 2 or 3 product launches and deliver great value apart from just selling a product.
It was time for me to build a company and team that can build supercars instead of me building a supercar. If only building good project cars were enough, why are guys like B is for build and Tavarish doesn’t have their own car brands? Americans build really great project cars, so why don't they have any major supercar brands?

I know how eager all of us Indians are for our own country-made supercar. Don't worry, I've got you.

A surprise is awaiting. Here is a sneak peek for you guys.

Cheers,
Sumeet

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by startupdaddyy

Hello everyone

Wow the output from your home-made CNC foam milling machine is fantastic.

Can you tell us more about it? Were there some open-source plans you followed? Overall time to build / cost? etc


Also great to see someone idolizing Mate Rimac instead of Elon Musk for a change

Him & Christian Von K are way underrated!


I also see that you might be used to markup, but unfortunately it doesn't work on Team-BHP. Instead you need to use bbcode formatting, which is available on the toolbar above the post creation area.

Originally Posted by startupdaddyy

I learned a lot about the harsh realities of building an automotive brand in India, especially without deep pockets to spend.

Super cool installment, and glad you delved into the possibly harsh reality of an undertaking like this.

[startupdaddyy]

Building a Great Company

To build a great company and team, my focus shifted to delivering real value to the automotive world—much like Toyota does with its renowned reliability. Building a production-ready car requires years of research and development. Even with millions of dollars in funding today, it would take us until around 2026–27 to launch a production-ready model. Establishing a service network in India would take even more time.

We need something quicker. All the industry experts suggested finding a partner for aspects that don't require R&D from scratch, like chassis, body, and suspension. This way, we can focus on developing advanced batteries, motors, and other components, which we can get funding for more easily and sell to other car manufacturers.

I contacted many companies and design houses, such as Pininfarina and a few other Europeans. Somehow, I connected with Praga Cars. They offered to help design a car from scratch and build our first few prototypes. They proposed using their reliable track car, the Praga R4S, which is now owned and sold by a company named B Racing.

We flew to Germany to meet the person behind B Racing. We proposed either selling multiple cars or selling the entire company and shifting operations to India.
Here is the facelift version of the K1 attack that we acquired from them; we call this the Hyperpace Maverick.


Our plan is to build 10 prototypes: 4 for our developmental use and the remaining 6 for track use for our clients. We're focusing on track cars first because it allows us to test our components extensively before making a market debut. Additionally, it helps us avoid dealing with vehicle registration initially.

It's a great start for us, as we have already sold some cars to our clients. This not only brings in revenue but also validates our approach and builds our reputation.

My Journey of Building India's First All-Electric Sports Car: Now on YouTube!

Many of you have expressed interest in knowing more about the details and processes involved in building my electric sports car. To share my experience and knowledge with you all, I have decided to document my journey through a YouTube series.
The goal of my YouTube series is to provide a transparent, step-by-step guide on how I'm building this car, from conceptualization to the final product. I hope to inspire and educate fellow car enthusiasts and aspiring entrepreneurs through my videos.

https://youtu.be/lXo2mLyr2Pk?si=rfSJ5-xl-xjQMEF8

What You Can Expect

In the series, I will cover various aspects of the car-building process, including:

Concept and Design: How I conceptualized the design and the tools I used to bring my vision to life I will share the process which is used by the experts in automotive industry.

Prototyping: The trials and errors of building prototypes, including the materials and techniques that worked (and those that didn’t) and what the global automotive industry is doing.

Challenges and Solutions: The obstacles I faced and how I overcame them, offering practical advice for similar projects.

Meeting Industry Experts: Insights and podcast from my meetings with industry experts

Market Research: About the Indian market for supercars and electric vehicles, and Startups.

Company Formation: The steps involved in building a manufacturing company from a small startup

Whether you're an automotive enthusiast, a budding entrepreneur, or someone who loves innovative projects, this series has something for you. By sharing my journey, I aim to:

Inspire: Show that building a high-performance vehicle in India is possible with determination and creativity.

Educate: Provide valuable knowledge and resources for those looking to embark on similar ventures.

Connect: Create a community of like-minded individuals who can support and learn from each other.

Let's build something incredible together and put India on the map for innovative automotive engineering.

Thank you once again for your unwavering support. Together, we can push the boundaries of what's possible in the automotive world.

Cheers,
Sumeet

[maverick42]

Originally Posted by startupdaddyy

Thank you once again for your unwavering support. Together, we can push the boundaries of what's possible in the automotive world.

Cheers,
Sumeet

Need more young minds like you challenging status quo. As someone who had dreamt of something similar this but never got a chance to take it forward, I'm standing by you and cheering you!

Also a fellow newbie but once I have DM privileges, will reach out to you.

[PRO77]

Hats off to you. You took on a dream deemed impposible and your progress is brilliant as well.
But i have a doubt, being a newbie myself can u tell which kind of software do you use to design/ render the 3 d models of your prototype . If u mention it it will be so kind of you

[SRK]

Originally Posted by startupdaddyy

Building a Great Company

To build a great company and team, my focus shifted to delivering real value to the automotive world—much like Toyota does with its renowned reliability.

That's a great plan! Working with someone who already built a car will definitely get yours on the road faster. Focusing on a track car for now is smart too.

One question though: The model you picked was designed for a gas engine, right? Wouldn't that mean a lot of changes to make it electric (EV)?

If you want to go fully electric, maybe consider a platform built specifically for EVs (Born-EV).

Also, why not start with a super fun electric track car, like an Ariel Atom or KTM X-Bow, but electric? Even a high-performance electric go-kart could be awesome!

These types of cars would help build a fan base for your brand. You could have track days for them or even offer subscriptions.

Then, in the background, you could keep working on your dream supercar!

[FocusAssist]

Really amazed by the dedication and effort you have put.

About sourcing parts from an existing part bin to construct your own car is a very sensible approach given limited capex, experience and expertise.

Sometime back from the video linked below I found out that Caterham uses the same technique to build cars.
Pick an expertise and double down on that. Find partners for the rest. Especially early on. Given that you have your customers curated as well

https://youtu.be/ggjoFyA_V68?si=oSwLWs0f8a-Cv30R

The part where Caterham founder explains how they get production quality cars is by using production quality parts starts at 5:00 in the timeline

[DessertOnWheels]

All eyes on you, Sumeet. One of the most inspiring posts. Perhaps for the first time TBHP members are interacting with an automobile maker. Do check the possibilities of crowd funding, atleast within the TBHP community.

[Happy Go Lucky]

Dear Sumeet, combination of dreaming and doing it is rare blessing. Wish you all the success and I wish you get all help and the technical inputs from the BHPians in your success journey. All the very best

[Livnletcarsliv]

Sumeet, this is the best thing that can happen to anyone's life ever - dream of something, that dream becomes your passion, pursuing/executing your passion and sharing the knowledge to the community/next gen. I strong believe the quest for knowledge never stops till the last breath. So is the sharing of knowledge - knowledge without sharing is again of no use. You do both and I sincerely congratulate and appreciate.

May you get all you need to follow your passion and become successful in your journey.

[PreludeSH]

I am disappointed when on t-BHP we criticize many new car companies trying to bring a product with terms like snake oil etc. It takes a lot of effort and perseverance to even bring something on road.

Even in software products I have seen many people with passion fail to realize their dreams. A car is altogether at a different level. Whether it fails or succeeds is a different issue.

Please keep your dream alive.