We got several emails telling us to look into a kid named Alex Kelsey and the rally car that he built for himself in a nice little barn located at his family home in New Zealand. The 21-year old guy barely made it through high school because of a severe case of dyslexia and the associated struggles with reading, writing, and other factors involved in learning. What he may have struggled with visually, he is an absolute and 100% certified phenom when it comes to welding, fabrication, and working with his hands. We could go on a rant that the lack of shop classes and industrial education in this country means that we don’t foster the talents that an Alex Kelsey has and instead punish guys who could be applying themselves in a satisfying and profitable way by sticking them in special ed classes, etc. As you will see in this video, the kid can Tig weld, he did his own carbon and kevlar work, and he can drive this car like mad as well. Oh, the best part of the whole deal is that the car is street legal in New Nealand! So what you are about to see isn’t just a rally car but it is a car that can be street driven like anything else.
The machine is an interesting mash up of brands, parts, and pieces. The body is a little Peugeot hatch back. The suspension is all hand fabricated by Alex, the engine is a formula Renault plant that would have been found in an open wheel car originally and emits a screaming wail reminiscent of the previous generation of Formula One cars that have been replaced by the ones that sound like bread trucks. No, it does not get to F1 levels of wail, but damn it does sound good!
We should also note that Alex has been a rally racer for more than a few years and he is actually the youngest person ever to win a stage in the New Zealand National Rally Championships, a feat that he accomplished a couple of years ago driving a car called MC1 (Mad Creation 1) hence the name of the Peugeot as Mad Creation 2. We have two videos of the car for you to see below. The first is a news report that lays out the story, shows the car hauling around the track, and has some footage of Alex talking. The other video is just some pure rally footage that shows the car actually working in a race environment and you get to hear the sound….the sweet ass sound of that formula engine really getting after it.
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO CHECK OUT THE VIDEOS OF A HOMEBUILT RALLY MACHINE FROM NEW ZEALAND –
Living proof that Dyslexia need not be a handicap .. nor are those afflicted victims when they are taught and chose to employ the strategies available to them to get around the affliction . Most folks would be damned shocked to know just how many seriously successful people in all fields have the affliction … they taking what to some is a roadblock and turning it into their own super highway *
Two serious Thumbs Up to this Kid and may he be an example to many others with Dyslexia
And a huge BangShift approval … times 1000 to a a factor of ten
* Malcolm Gladwell’s ” David and Goliath ” has an entire chapter about this
“Oh, the best part of the whole deal is that the car is street legal in New Nealand!”
Does that make him a “Niwi” Bangshifter?
Serious, this is a brilliant build (even if it is based on a French car . . . Oui,oui? NO! Wee, wee . . . . ) . . . great story!
Kids, put down the worthless video games, iPhones, and the bongs, and get busy like this hard-workin’ Kiwi did!
” Kids, put down the worthless video games, iPhones, and the bongs, and get busy like this hard-workin’ Kiwi did! ”
Amen to that !!! With the addition of ;
Parents ; Grab all those infotainment devices out of the hands of your kids . Drag them outside kicking screaming and hollering . Clue them into the negative realities of the 420 lifestyle [ not the exaggerated Fear Factor bs that make you look like a fool the minute they light up ] before they even start . And get them to start DOING something real instead of dreaming/blogging/tweeting etc in the virtual world
In other words ; Parents ! Start acting and behaving like parents rather than like your kids too cool for his/her shoes aunts and uncles
It does sound cool. A BRM may be the only thing that sounds cooler.