Mišo Kuzmanović, a mechanic from Bosnia, has spent two years and over $30,000 building his very own Formula One car. The 150hp vehicle doesn’t reach the top speeds of real race cars, but it’s still a sight to behold.
A big fan of motor sports Mišo Kuzmanović had always dreamed of driving a Formula 1 race car, but living in Bosnia, he never really got the opportunity. One day, the skilled mechanic from Prnjavor decided he was going to build his dream car from scratch, and two years ago he put his plan into motion. He bought an original Volkswagen engine, a gearbox but made a lot of the other car parts, the frame and the body himself, in his workshop . Some friends helped him with the paint job and sound system installation, but he did most of the work on the car himself. It required a lot of money, effort, patience and knowledge to complete, but Mišo says the moment he was finally able to get behind the driver’s seat and cruise around town in his bright Red Formula 1 car was one of the happiest of his life. He put around 1,000 hours of work into his dream, but it all paid off in the end. Kuzmanović’s hand-made Formula 1 vehicle leaves no neck unturned when it passes by, and he loves answering questions about his masterpiece wherever he goes.
Although his creation can reach a top speed of 250 km/h, Mišo Kuzmanović usually respect speed limits and has only taken it up to 175 km/h when driving on the highway. The unique vehicle is 6 meters long, weighs 1,28 tonnes and was designed to accommodate two passengers. It meets all safety standards, and has various features like airbags, hydraulics for height adjustments and a powerful sound system. You might notice the tires aren’t those used on real F1 cars, and that’s because they’re really original aircraft tires. Mišo estimates it cost him around €25,000 ($32,600) to complete his Formula 1 replica, and even though he has received offers of up to €60,000 ($78,000) he hasn’t considered selling it. “Some things just aren’t for sale,” he says.
Kuzmanović, who has rightfully received the nickname “Schumacher of Bosnia”, is planning to emigrate to Canada soon, and wants to take his Formula 1 vehicle with him. He’s hoping to convince a company to mass produce the street legal F1 car.
Photos via Klix.ba
