Pakistan’s First Woman Car Designer 

Although car design and manufacturing remains predominately a man’s province, both globally as well as in Pakistan, people such as Fizza Shabbar may just be starting to buck the trend.  An art graduate with no background in automotive engineering, Shabbar and her brother were auto buff ever since they were children. Sadly, her brother passed away in 2011 and his death prompted her to design and build a car in his memory, and the next year, in 2012, Shabbar started work on converting a 1970s Veapa Sprint Veloce scooter into a car.

Completed in 2015, the car, which Shabbar named the ZA, cost approximately Rs 280,000 to convert. Shabbar opted for a Vespa because she wanted to combine the advantages of a motorbike with those of an automobile. To compensate for her lack of technical expertise, Shabbar sought and recived assistance from several automobile mechanics while she built the car.

The ZA is powered by the Vespa’s original 145.45cc, two-stroke engine (as opposed to a four stroke engine found in regular cars) to ensure fuel efficiency – although the reduced engine power means that the car has a top speed of only 35 kilometres per hour.

The ZA has five wheels to ensure stability and two doors , with a maximum seating capacity of three people including the driver. The car also comes with a trunk and to compensate for the lack of air-conditioning , a manually foldable sunroof for ventilation has been incorporated , although this may not prove to be very practical in summer.

Although the ZA has made history by being the first car designed and and built by a Pakistani woman, it is a long way from being produced commercially. However, it is further proof that women can on longer be relegated to car-interiors related functions – in Pakistan or elsewhere.

By Syed Wajeeh-ul-hassan Naqvi. Information provided by Fizza Shabbar

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