From zero to 550,000 for UAE's humble Lamborghini winner

Soupi Abdulla, the company driver who won a Lamborghini at a UAE mall raffle, has sold it for Dh550,000 cash.

AL AIN // The world’s luckiest food delivery driver was one Lamborghini poorer today – but Dh550,000 better off.

Soupi Abdulla, 44, who won the Dh750,000 supercar in a raffle at Al Jimi Mall, has sold it for cash.

“That Lamborghini is finished for me. I’ll buy a new car for a low price, maybe a Nissan Sunny or Toyota Corolla,” he said.

Mr Soupi had no plans to change his life when he was handed the keys to the 2012 Gallardo LP550 on Thursday.

But two days and Dh550,000 later, his plans have changed.

He sold the Lamborghini to a Syrian expatriate through a contact in Dubai, and he will use the money to start a food delivery business with his two brothers.

“I will go for two months vacation in India and when I come back I will develop my business,” he said. “Just me and my brothers.”

Friends and family across the country worked together to find him a purchaser for the car as quickly as possible.

Mohammed Sharif, who is married to Mr Soupi’s niece, visited showrooms to research prices and helped to find the buyer.

“He’s a good person really,” said Mr Sharif, 30. “A God-fearing person, down to earth, simple, honest. He’s a really nice guy.

“Really it was nice because the family are almost 30 years here working hard and really it is nice to hear.

“Mr Soupi did many small-scale businesses in the Gulf region. Now he has a good opportunity.”

Mr Soupi is a second-generation expatriate to the UAE and earns Dh1,000 a month as a driver for a food company. He budgets Dh300 for himself and sends the rest to his wife, two children, disabled brother and widowed mother in Kerala.

His father died more than 10 years ago after working as a family cook for 20 years in Ras Al Khaimah.

Mr Soupi’s brothers Ahmed and Assainar, with whom he is now going into business, have lived in the UAE for 30 and 22 years.