Lot 324: The Discovery Channel 'Chop Shop' Congestion Buster

The Chop Shop is a unique business run by Bangladesh's self styled answer to Enzo Ferrari and his cockney side kick Bernie Fineman. Over the past year the team has built up its business from an empty railway arch to the custom car garage for the stars. Satisfied customers include Virgin Radio's breakfast DJ Christian O'connell and Spandau Ballet lead singer and East Enders star Martin Kemp. This is your chance to buy a Chop Shop one off. These are truly original cars, the new body shapes are made entirely from sheet steel crafted in Leepu's inimitable style into some of the most eye catching cars on the road. Every one sold comes with its own DVD documenting its history from the scrap yard to the showroom. This LPG-powered car started out as a gripe between Bernie and Ken Livingstone over the congestion charge, a common enough discussion between City Hall and the rest of the civilised world. Leepu's challenge was to make a car that outsmarted the Smart car and denied Red Ken his spurious and ill-determined pound of flesh. So using best Chop Shop logic he started with a Suzuki Carry Van. This was chopped until there was little more than the basic flat bed. Leepu then took 18 inches out of the middle of the van shortening the wheelbase and started with this as the platform. The main body is a combination of panels produced in the Chop Shop workshops and those scavenged from a Fiat Corsa, while the driving position has been moved from its original position above the engine to behind it and in so doing both the centre of gravity and weight have been kept down. This also improved the handling as well as the all important fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. A true congestion car would not be correct without a full professionally installed LPG gas conversion. One can then spend the rest of time trying to find a parking space that one cannot fit into while a so-called traffic camera finds a cash-raising excuse to flash and fine one. It won't happen, 225mg of CO2 per kilometre will simply be an in-joke!