06 June, 2014
A man from Bristol has worked tirelessly, spending hundreds of pounds and hours building a mini version of a BMW classic in tribute to his late father and grandfather.
Roger Briginshaw, a distribution manager by trade, took it upon himself to create the BMW 328 replica - which is powered by a 24-volt electric golf buggy engine in the boot - following the death of his beloved dad, also Roger, three years ago.
As a youngster, he used to sit in the dusty shell of the BMW toy car, handcrafted by his grandfather, Charles, pretending to be one of the great racing drivers of the day, while also pestering anyone in sight to be pushed around the family-owned workshop in it.
Roger senior and Charles had always wanted to turn the toy into something more, but sadly never found the time as they were too busy running the local garage.
The pair managed to get as far as putting a windscreen on the car and fitting a floor and some wheels, before it was eventually put into storage for several years.
But Roger junior, spurred on by his father’s memory, decided it was a project that needed to be finished.
The 39-year-old, who lives with his two children - Isabel, 10, and Callum, five - and wife Sarah in Bradley Stoke, has created a thing of beauty that his dad and grandfather would no doubt be immeasurably proud of.
It is a far cry from the fibreglass shell with rickety wheels that was once left to collect dust in the workshop.
Painted metallic silver and kitted out with racing badges, number plates, plus all the accessories from the era, the mini BMW 328 has forward and reverse gears and is capable of reaching speeds of up to 8mph.
“I just started doing it when my father died,” said Roger.
“As a tribute to him I decided to do the car. He would have loved doing it with me. Cars are in our blood.”
It certainly turns heads everywhere it goes - particularly those of classic car enthusiasts - and his brother Graham was so impressed with the finished article that he decided to build one himself as well.
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