Nizamuddin Awlia (best known as Leepu) (born 1 October 1968) is a Bangladeshi automotive engineer, designer and coachbuilder, best known for building imitation supercars out of old models.

Awlia was born in Bangladesh. His passion for cars began when he was a youngster growing up in the Middle East.^[1] At the age of 16, he visited his first motor show in Saudi Arabia, where his father bought him a Mazda.^[2]

At the age of 16, Awlia made the “Leemo-bil,”^[2] a version of his dream car, the Lamborghini Countach.^[1] Even though he did not know how to do bodywork or paint and used a poser for the design.^[3]

In the 2000s, after setting up business in Dhaka, Awlia made the “Leepu,” a loose copy of another of his dream cars, a Lamborghini Diablo.^[1] For £2,500, he has turned a Daihatsu Charade turned into a Leepu-mobile.^[2] Awlia has also made a 22-feet-long limousine - made by welding together several cars, and powered by a 2.8 litre diesel engine. Awlia estimates that it would be worth more than $50,000 if it was sold.^[1]

Awlia converts rusting Toyotas and Hondas into imitation Ferraris and Lamborghinis. In his converted garage, he works with four mechanics, stripping down Japanese cars and replacing their bodywork with metal cut in the form of a sleek Italian sports car. The sheet metal they use comes from the same stock used to make the bicycle rickshaws.

Awlia has visited the General Motors Institute in Michigan. However he was put off studying there by the volume of technical work therefore he decided to open his own workshop to get some practical experience. After doing this for three years, he went back to Bangladesh. He started making cars to order, based on old Daihatsus and Toyotas.^[1]

In 2004, Awlia came to the attention of Intersection magazine, and received international interest.^[1] He featured in the Dhaka City Exhibition in the UK which ran from 2005-2010.^[4]

In 2006, Discovery Channel proposed Awlia to build two cars in eight weeks for them. Awlia completed the cars within seven weeks with the help of cockney car mechanic, Bernie Fineman.^[5] In April 2006, the first car was unveiled during a three-day show at The Dhaka Motor Show at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre. It was one of Awlia’s sports models, M26, it was made in four weeks using an 22-year-old Toyota Sprinter with an imported chassis.^[6] On 7 May 2006, the second car, The Peace Car, was unveiled at the Bangladesh National Museum. After the heavy modification, the 1979 Toyota Crown was difficult to trace.^[5]

In June 2006,^[5] Awlia was invited to London to work on a car transformation project by the near completed Rich Mix Centre in East London as part of their opening exhibition project.^[4] He became “artist in residence” at the Rich Mix centre. For two months, he worked on handcrafting a Ford Capri into something more stylish. Called “Car,” the result was on show in the summer, exhibited with a film on how the vehicle was built.^[2]

In May 2007, the “Angel Car” was launched at the Baishakhi Mela Festival in Brick Lane. Awila and Fineman built the car in their workshop beneath a Whitechapel railway arch in just three weeks.^[7]

In 2007, Awlia has featured on Discovery Channel’s Bangla Bangers, a car transformation project with his partner Bernie Fineman building supercars out of old models^[4] without any advanced equipment.^[6] in his back-street workshop in Dhaka.^[8] The programme was later followed by sequel-series Chop Shop: London Garage,^[9][10][11] in which designers Awlia and Fineman created a range of modified cars commissioned by celebrities. Their challenge was to produce custom-built cars on a tight budget, while matching the requirements of each client.^[12]

Awlia’s parents did not want him to go back to Bangladesh after he moved to the United States, he had to get married and make cars there. His marriage was arranged by his 100-year-old grandfather and he met his wife, Deepa, on the wedding day.^[3]

• British Bangladeshi
• List of British Bangladeshis

• Leepu Nizamuddin Awlia at IMDb
• Leepu Nizamuddin Awlia on X

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