Car enthusiast makes his own BMW - Jamaican man creates model luxury vehicle from recycled materials

Though he is a tiler and painter by profession, 34-year-old Davina Robinson has always been crazy about toy cars.

The car enthusiast has been building remote-controlled vehicles for more than a decade, and one of his latest is a replica of a 2023 BMW X7. Robinson said he used plastic soda bottles, CD casings, tins, old bicycle tubes, cereal and ice-cream packaging and pen springs to construct the black and white miniature ride.

The Woodford, St Andrew, resident is hoping to get the attention of the German manufacturer with his design.

"I want to get directly to BMW in Germany because I think I am the only person who uses these types of materials to build model cars. I would love if I could get a work with them as I always watch their videos how they make cars, and my goal is to make a real car that can drive. I know I can make a real one now but I know I don't have the space to build it where I am living now," Robinson said.

As he shows off his model vehicle, his one-year-old son Amair was intrigued by the flashing lights. His little eyes lit up as he reached towards the bonnet. He clapped his hands in delight as he heard the music playing from the 14-inch car, and laughed with his father.

"I want the operators of BMW to know that we Jamaicans are talented. The only thing I purchased to make this is super glue. Everything else is recycled," he said.

The model BMW has been fitted with a circuit board that allows him to play music or listen to the radio via Bluetooth.

"You can insert a memory chip in there and play music as well. The headlamps are also controlled by remote just like the real BMW," the car enthusiast said.

Robinson said his passion for luxurious cars dates back to his childhood as he used to assemble and reassemble them, learning how to make them from scratch with recycled material.

"When I was very small one of my toy cars got damaged and I tried to make it back and I did. I use all of the things that people would consider to be garbage to make the cars. The first car I made was a Lamborghini about 12 years ago," he said.

He said some neighbours were a bit sceptical when he started out more than a decade ago but they gave him the thumbs up when they saw the finished product.

"I didn't have the push financially and I keep wondering where it was going to take me, so I started to do my own thing like painting and I stopped making cars. But now I am trying to pick up the pieces," he said.

Robinson told THE STAR that he also makes helicopters, planes and other automobiles in his spare time, much of which he offers as school projects to other children.