SuperRare is excited to welcome Automobilist to the spotlight once again. After the success of their debut genesis NFT release earlier this month, the European collective known for their remarkable and sophisticated creations of automotive art are back at it.
This week, Automobilist is releasing another outstanding piece from their ‘Fine-Art’ collection. For those that missed the details, Automobilist spends over 4000 hours creating each piece within ‘the Fine-Art’ collection – which is an unprecedented level of commitment.
At a time when more initiatives than ever are being put in place to welcome and encourage women in motor racing, we proudly present the next installment from their ‘Fine-Art’ collection – ‘The Queen of the Steering Wheel’ a timely reminder that women have enjoyed success in all forms of sport from the earliest days.
Set in 1928, and driving her Bugatti Type-35B, Eliška Junková is seen in a bird’s-eye view at the Bugatti team pit-stop during the Targa Florio in Sicily, one of the sport’s most demanding and dangerous events.
At her first attempt Eliška failed to finish after her steering wheel broke resulting in a terrifying crash.
Determined and fearless, she returned the following year to tackle the race once again. On the last lap, Eliška was leading the race, until suddenly her car began to overheat and a tyre also failed causing her to lose valuable time. Nevertheless, she finished fifth overall, a remarkable achievement against some of the best drivers in the world at the time. Eliška went on to become one of the stars of the racing world and when she hung up her helmet, French automobile founder-manufacturer Ettore Bugatti himself appointed her as an ambassador to his Bugatti brand.
The greatest challenge in creating this artwork was re-creating the Bugatti Type-35B with the same authenticity that Automobilist is renowned for. With no 3D or CAD images available, the car was brought to life using over 100 reference images. Eliška’s Bugatti, the yellow version often called ‘Otakárek’ or ‘yellow butterfly’ by her, was also uniquely modified for her use including thick large cushioning in the seat to provide a boost to her small frame. Therefore standard editions of the car available to view in museums were not exactly the same as the car she drove.
After the initial sketches were drafted, the Bugatti Type 35B and the elements of the pitstop were created via a combination of 3D renderings and a photoshoot carried out to re-create the moment. The bird’s eye view, now commonly referred to as the ‘drone-eye’ view was chosen as this view could be narrated or written about from the 1920s, but not visually seen from races back then.
Several weeks of developments and thousands of hours of technology-meets-design later, was born ‘The Queen of the Steering Wheel’ was born, one of our earliest artworks dedicated to the spirit of a woman’s determination and drive combined with a team and car that stood in firm support.
Automobilist is a celebrated collective of artists, designers, & passionate motorsports enthusiasts who capture and recreate some of the most fabled moments in motorsports history. Partnering with iconic automotive brands and teams, the artworks are not only distinctly recognisable but often officially licensed. Automobilist spends over 4000 painstaking hours designing and developing Fine-Art pieces, a level of dedication that is unprecedented in the community. And the effort shows – each car re-created in 3D with flawless intricacy and detail.
This Fine Art is immensely popular within the team. Some are fascinated by Eliška’s drive, others by a classic, timeless Bugatti. Available on SuperRare May 25 at 11:30AM EST/ 8:30AM PST / 5:30PM CET
