India's own version of Ripley's Believe It or Not; this car museum in Hyderabad has it all!

The News Minute | November 21, 2014 |3:30 pm IST

Would you prefer driving a bat or a ball? Maybe you would prefer driving a bed or a dining table. As unusual as this sounds, a man in Hyderabad has made the first and only handmade wacky car museum in the world. 

Sudhakar, the brainchild behind “Sudha Car Museums” in Bahadurpura has designed and hand crafted more than 50 whacky drive able cars which literally come in all shapes and sizes.

There are cars of all sorts from ones shaped like a helmet or a cup to a 4 seating Christmas tree. “I built my first bicycle at the age of 14” he says, and there was no stopping him after that. He even built a double sized bed and a pool table which can be driven.

Sudhakar also has a Guiness world record to his name for building the world’s largest tricycle which is 37 ft long and has a wheel diameter of 17 ft. He also is in the Limca book of records and was featured on Ripley’s Believe It or Not. He has also built the world’s smallest double decker bus with a seating capacity of 10. 

Adding to his collection are 12 different types of motorcycles, the smallest being 13 inches high, which can travel at a speed of about 30kmph.
 

The museum is thronged with excited kids who are awestruck at the ingenuity behind all the different bikes and cars. “All the vehicles can be driven and I mostly take them to road shows” he adds

It takes anywhere between a couple of months and a couple of years to finish a car. “The amount of time it takes to build a car varies depending on a few factors. Every car here is handmade and made from scrap that we get from a few junkyards on the outskirts of the city.” Sudha says.

He bases his car on various themes including social issues too. Sudhakar built a bike shaped like a condom in 2002 to create awareness about its usage and a bike shaped like a cigarette encouraging smokers to kick the butt.

“This is just a hobby that I have developed over the past 40 years. I have been in the printing business for a long time and I shuffle between the two things everyday” he added.

The museum also hosts a collection of vintage cars including a World War 2 Norton 1944 model with a side car and a “paradrop” collapsible cycle, besides a showcase of the Indian classics that dominated the streets when fiat and the ambassador were the only cars around.

One of his latest innovations is an entire office built from scrap parts with the body of a car for his desk and a tempo traveller’s door which doubles up as a light proof window. Even the sofas in this office have wheels.

A special insight into his workspace revealed his upcoming projects including a cake shaped car and a “bathukamma” festival themed car which is going to be decorated with flowers. Bathukamma is Telangana’s annual floral festival which is celebrated for a duration of 9 days.

When asked about his plans for the future Sudhakar said “I plan to build a hundred whacky cars and also plan to start a line of jewelry themed cars.” 

All in all, this place is a must visit for petrol heads and car enthusiasts as a collection with such rare and unique vehicles don’t come by too often.

You can view all the cars on the official website here .