To pursue his passion for crafting cars, Mr. Hai has at times “borrowed” money from his wife to purchase vehicle components. After three years of relentless effort, his cars have garnered much admiration and many people are placing orders for them. “Borrowing” money from his wife to invest in making a “super car”
In Coc Thon village, Truong Xuan commune, Tho Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province, everyone knows Mr. Ngo Dinh Hai (43 years old). Many locals refer to him as the “ground engineer.” Some even consider him eccentric due to his peculiar interest: buying scrap iron to build cars.
After finishing polishing on his newly crafted “Lamborghini Aventador supercar,” Mr. Hai mentioned that the journey towards his passion for building cars has not been straightforward.
Graduating from high school, Mr. Hai did not opt for a university path but went to serve in the military. In 2003, after leaving the military, he went to work abroad in Malaysia.
Three years later, upon returning home, the young man learned the stage decoration profession, photography, opened a wedding photography shop, and then started a family.
According to Mr. Hai, regardless of his profession or location, he always delved into learning about cars. This passion is the source of his daily life. He mentioned that this passion began when he crafted his first car in 2019.
His first product, built within six months, had an electric engine, four wheels, two seats, and a trunk at the back. The car, measuring 1.2 meters in height and 2.5 meters in length, could run for about 40 kilometers after each full charge.
As per Mr. Hai, lacking formal training meant that creating his first car involved paying a “tuition fee” of several tens of millions of Vietnamese dong. Sometimes, when money was scarce, he took the risk of using his wife’s living expenses to serve his passion.
“Many times, coming home from work, I hid my salary from my wife. To satisfy my passion, I made up reasons like needing money for repairing machinery, sound equipment, although they weren’t broken. I even ‘stole’ my wife’s living expenses to buy components,” Mr. Hai cheerfully recounted.
After successfully creating the vehicle, Mr. Hai and his wife used it to transport goods for weddings around their commune. Initially, seeing her husband immersed all day in oil and grease with scattered pieces of machinery, Mrs. Hai felt uncomfortable and did not support her husband’s passion.
However, after Mr. Hai had transported goods for weddings several times on his unique “super car” and saw many wedding guests taking photos, his wife gradually warmed up to the idea and started supporting him.
Astonishingly High Selling Price of the “Super Car”
Mr. Hai revealed that he had never considered commercializing the cars he built. It was until a customer from Yen Dinh district in Thanh Hoa province, who shared his passion, inquired about purchasing his vehicle for display, offering a price of 12 million Vietnamese dong.
After successfully selling the first car, I decided not to give the money to my wife but instead used it entirely to buy old cars to dismantle and build other ones,” shared Mr. Hai.
Subsequently, after completing each car, Mr. Hai had his nephew take pictures and then posted them on social media platforms for people to see and evaluate. Consequently, many people admired and continuously placed orders. In 2021, he successfully transferred ownership of 30 cars.
“Thanks to social media, the products I made were liked by many people and orders kept coming in. I sold various types, from the cheapest at 25 million VND to the most expensive at 50 million VND. Some even ordered an electric bus for 120 million VND,” shared Mr. Hai.
Upon learning that Mr. Hai had sold 30 cars, friends and neighbors were all amazed. Especially after three years of building cars, Mr. Hai finally earned an income, bringing money home to his wife.
According to Mr. Hai, the cars he created were often used by players for display at cafes and photo studios.
“At the beginning of 2023, I received three orders, including one to create a ‘Lamborghini Aventador supercar’ according to the client’s specifications. It was the first time I received such a challenging request, so I stayed up all night planning, searching online to manufacture this supercar,” Mr. Hai shared.
To create the “supercar,” Mr. Hai mentioned that he personally purchased iron, welded frames, chassis, made lights, painted, and researched engines to meet the client’s requirements.
After five months of studying and exploring, he completed his first-ever “supercar.” To differentiate it from an authentic Lamborghini Aventador, Mr. Hai altered its size, design, logo, and interior space.
Notably, Mr. Hai didn’t use a car engine but instead utilized the engine from a three-wheeler.
Following the success of the “Lamborghini supercar,” Mr. Hai plans to invent another “supercar” based on the Bugatti model.
