News24 | Vroom for improvement: KZN man goes from wire cars to building his own ‘Bugatti’ with scraps

Thembelani Zondo, 25, built a Bugatti-style car out of recycled materials over six years.

Thembelani Zondo/Facebook

• Thembelani Zondo spent six years building a Bugatti-style car from scrap materials at his home in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal.
• His six siblings and community members supported the project by collecting materials.
• He plans to build a BMW M8 lookalike next and dreams of launching his own car brand.

As a young boy, Thembelani Zondo started making small wire cars, inspired by real ones that passed by his home in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal.

And now, at 25, he has built a functioning Bugatti-style car from recycled materials, proudly bearing his surname.

Zondo says he taught himself how to build his first car.

“I learned by watching, trying, failing and trying again and again,” he tells News24.

“Something that gave me the idea was to create more cars. When I was young, I decided to make my own from scratch. I wanted to have something that looks like a real car.”

It took him six years to build the car with the assistance of family and contributions from community members.

He mostly used scrap materials that he found, including zinc plates, cardboard, wire and steel.

“Sometimes people in the community gave me materials when they saw what I was doing,” says Zondo.

Zondo started the process by creating a prototype. He then built the metal frame, covered it with zinc plates, added wheels and doors, used cardboard for the interior, and sprayed the exterior with blue paint.

“The blue is the final colour I painted the body with. I wanted the car to have a strong and clean colour like a real sports car,” he says.

“It took me almost one year to build the car, but due to the shortage of materials, five more years were added until I completed it fully this year.”

Zondo says his six siblings helped him a lot by holding things as he put it all together.

“They support me a lot. They are proud of me,” he adds.

“The community has been very supportive. Many people are surprised and proud when they see the car. Other kids look up to me, and they watched when I was building [the car]. Some kids even want me to teach them.”

Children in Thembelani Zondo's community marvel at his Bugatti-style car made from recycled materials.

Thembelani Zondo/Facebook

Thembelani Zondo's Bugatti-style car made from recycled materials has been tagged with his age to signify the year he made a long-time dream come true.

Thembelani Zondo/ Facebook

In the short term, Zondo aims to build a BMW M8 lookalike, and also plans to create a car brand of his own.

“My car brand name will be THEMBA MOTORS. I want it to be a brand that represents Africa and that is built from scratch with hands,” he says.

“My main goal is to become a car designer and engineer. I want to show that you don’t need a lot of money to start. You can start with your hands and your ideas.”