You must have heard car experts say modern supercars have become so simple to handle that even a child can drive them. While it’s just a figure of speech that is often used for highlighting the evolution of supercars, this 3-year-old has proved that it’s not entirely metaphorical. Meet Zayn Sofuoğlu, a toddler from Turkey who’s living the dream of every gearhead at the tender age of 3, making him the cutest and probably the youngest automotive influencer on the internet. Zayn has become an Internet sensation by pulling off stunts that seem almost impossible even for kids much older than him. They are captured on video by his parents and posted on his personal Instagram handle which has over 880,000 followers at the time of writing. For his latest stunt, the 3-year-old drove his father’s Ferrari SF 90 Stradale all by himself, showing some serious driving skills.
Of course, a 3-year-old kid driving a car on a public road won’t be legal in just about any part of the world. But Zayn gets to drive the Ferrari in what appears to be inside the premises of his parents’ house. Fashionably dressed like a proper internet celebrity, the kid can be seen using a chain to open the garage door before jumping into the Ferrari. Obviously, Zayn is too small to reach the pedals and look out of the windscreen at the same time. To overcome this problem, he uses a GoPro attached to the roof of the Ferrari with a live feed displayed on a tablet placed on the center console. He’s so tiny that he appears to be almost hanging from the steering wheel; yet, the kid flawlessly navigates the supercar through the narrow driveway and also reveres it back into the garage.
His father is a record holding motoracer –
If you’re surprised by Zayn’s supernatural driving skills, then let me tell you that it runs in his blood. The prodigy is the son of Kenan Sofuoğlu, a retired motorcycle racer from Turkey who holds a record five Supersport World Championship titles. The championship-winning motorcycle racer is also himself known for performing mad stunts. A few years back, he managed to set a world record for the fastest production motorcycle by hitting a top speed of 400km/h (about 250mph) on his personal Kawasaki Ninja H2R superbike.
Zayn’s astonishing driving skills are not just limited to the Ferrari SF 90 Stradale. Besides the $550,000 supercar, Zayn can also be seen riding massive motorcycles, jumping ATVs, racing go-karts, and even flying a POV drone. A few weeks back, the 3-year-old was filmed riding a Honda Gold Wing which weighs almost 900 lbs. and is powered by a huge 1800cc engine. Thankfully, the gigantic touring motorcycle features a DCT automatic transmission, making it easier for him to ride the bike without having to worry about gear shifting. Although this stunt was performed on what looks like a karting track and under his father’s supervision, it drew a lot of flak on the Internet. “If I do this to my son, the state will take him away from me,” said a Twitter user. “Zayn surely has talent, but to give a motorbike to a baby at that age, why?” questioned another person.
Kenan Sofuoğlu, a parliament member from the ruling Justice and Development Party, thus far has remained unperturbed by the criticism. In one of the videos, Zayn also drives an EQS electric luxury sedan, which is actually pretty massive in size. However, he effortlessly drives the big EV on the driveway using just the car’s 360-degree camera. If that was not enough, the 3-year-old also gets behind the wheel of a Yamaha side-by-side ATV in one of the videos and tows the Mercedes EV with it around the narrow driveway without breaking a sweat. Tell me that’s not crazy! In fact, Zayn is pretty skilled at towing, which can be seen in another video where he drives the ATV to pull a water scooter out of the garage. The GoPro footage showing the toddler carefully driving the tall off-road machine without hitting anything is simply amazing.
In a video with a caption that reads “LIKE FATHER LIKE SON,” Zayn and his father can be seen riding quadbikes in the courtyard circling around a tree on two wheels. The 3-year-old makes it look a little too easy. But then he has been doing it even before he learned how to walk properly. In addition to piloting automobiles like a true champion, Zayn also involves himself in other adventurous activities such as sand boarding, underwater diving, and water skiing. He even helps his father fix motorcycles.
Okay, I admit. Zayn is my new favorite influencer, even if I don’t really support parents making their kids pull off dangerous stunts in the name of likes and followers. Nevertheless, I’ll suggest you go check out his Instagram profile; it’s super cool.
