Previous Story
The markets, expectant and with doubts about the plan
Posted On 30 May 2018
Ecuadornews:
When the movie ‘Batman v Superman’ premiered, the Ecuadorian Andrés Quirola arrived at the cinema at the wheel of his own batmobile; Now, two years later, he has turned his passion to build replicas of celluloid cars into a business success that exports to markets as demanding as the United Arab Emirates.
The faithful replica of the iconic vehicle used by the Gotham superhero in his last films, with the appearance of a sports military vehicle, armed with machine guns and mounted on truck wheels, has made its first international sale, to be exhibited in a shopping mall in Dubai
Quirola, 32, who began his professional career as a television producer, explains to Efe that he began to develop the Adapta company nine years ago after the merger of an architecture company and a mechanical workshop.
“It was my job and also my passion because I started restoring classic vehicles”, says Quirola, who after completing the recovery of a Dodge Challenger from the 70s set himself the goal of “building a car from scratch”.
Encouraged to undertake the arduous task of making a car in an artisanal way, Quirola was clear that he would be inspired by another of his passions, the cinema, and so he started making movie cars together with his partner, Jorge Loor.
The first car that came out of the Adapta workshop was a replica of Eleanor, the vehicle of the movie ’60 seconds’, starring Nicolas Cage.
“It was the first car we made, we built it from scratch and so well that people did not imagine it had been manufactured by us,” says Quirola.
Then came the Batmobile, known as Batimovil in Latin America.
“The first Batmobile was manufactured in four months, but it was crazy because we did not have references, plans … we did everything with small photos,” explains Quirola.
The success in Ecuador was resounding, “nobody thought that the product was made in Latin America, they thought that the product had been brought from the United States or other countries, “he says.
And at that moment it was when the businessman Amire Adile came into play and found the Ecuadorian Batmobile through social networks, and decided that he had to bring the legendary black car to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Today he has already bought it to be the star piece of an exhibition that will open in Dubai Mall after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Adile, owner of Big Toys, explains to Efe that he was looking for something “iconic” to attract visitors to Dubai, when he discovered the vehicle of Quirola and Loor.
According to the businessman, what he values most about the vehicle made by this Ecuadorian company is “the talent of the people who have done this with passion”.
It seems to Adile “incredible” that they have been able to materialize in a handmade way a vehicle that is the “desire” of many; “He is my genius because he has made my dream come true”, jokes referring to Quirola.
So far, these Ecuadorian entrepreneurs have manufactured ten vehicles, all replicas of cars used in famous movies.
The list includes from Delorean that led Marty McFly in ‘Back to the Future’, to the very KITT, the companion of Michael Knight in the legendary television series ‘The fantastic car’, through the Batmobile Tumbler and the Batmobile of the 80s, which will be presented at the Comic-Con of Peru next July.
But the sale of the first Batmobile in Dubai opens a new horizon for this company in Ecuador.
“We aim to start all these cars out to rent to countries outside the continent,” explains Quirola.
The target market, he says, “is diverse” and can encompass “collectors as well as fairs and events such as Comic-Con”.
Quirola is clear about the key to the success of his idea: “These cars are something iconic, they transport people, the whole world moves their emotions when they see them” and it is not the same, compare: seeing a Ferrari and dream of having it someday and “seeing a car that marked a time of your life”.
In addition to the construction of these replicas, Adapta aims to broader projects and has in place the manufacture of a set of the movie Jurassic Park that includes, next to the jeep of the famous park, a head of Tyrannosaurus. (I)
