Design Dudes Make These Seriously Cool Sculptures of Auto Union Race Car
Usually, form follows function, especially when you’re designing a car. That’s because you have to meet certain parameters laid down by the engineers, the ergonomics guys, and the DOT and EPA. When you’re just creating art, however, the form doesn’t have to follow anything except its own inspiration.
So when design sculptor Michael Etrick and contract designer Raul Cenan took up a side project on their own, away from the confines of the studio, they were free to seek inspiration wherever they found it. Cenan did the original design and Etrick ran with it, under company name Etrick Art. The project took inspiration from a shape from Audi's past, the 1936 Auto Union Type C.
“If you are going to do an iconic vehicle related to Audi, the 1936 Auto Union Type C would be the one,” Etrick said.
The Type C Grand Prix race car was the third model from the newly created company Auto Union, which was formed by combining existing carmakers Audi, Horsch, DKW, and Wanderer in 1932. The Auto Union Grand Prix race cars were designed by none other than Ferdinand Porsche. They were revolutionary, among the first race cars to successfully put the engine behind the driver. And what an engine! The Type C was powered by a six-liter supercharged V16 making 550 horsepower. Remember, this was the 1930s, when 550 hp wasn’t found in just any SUV. The whole car, engine and all, weighed less than 750 kgs, or 1653 pounds.
That era of Grand Prix was enthralling, consisting of machines never before conceived by mere humans. The Type C competed against the likes of the Alfa Romeo 12C-36, Maserati V8RI, Bugatti 59/50, and the mighty Silver Arrows of Mercedes-Benz. What a time. And what an inspiration for a designer/artist.
The team at Etrick Art starts with a solid block of TC 6061 aluminum and machines away everything that doesn’t coincide with this vision. So don’t expect an exact replica of the real car, just an inspiration taken from it.
“The solid, polished aluminum Auto Union Tribute sculptures are idealized, organic forms inspired by the Type C race cars from a bygone era add beauty and excitement to any décor,” says Etrick press material. “Yet, being an auto enthusiast isn’t necessary to fully appreciate the Etrick Art pieces. Additionally, the mirror-finish of the material coupled with flowing forms masterfully reflect light, hence the name of this series (the Reflects series). The sculptures are currently available in two sizes, the impressively larger piece weighs in at over 300-pounds.”
The latter model is the one you want.
“A massive six-axis milling machine carves away at a block of TC 6061 aluminum , revealing the mass of metal,” Etrick says. “Once this rough piece of art is removed from the milling machine, the entire sculpture undergoes labor-intensive work by hand in refining, polishing, assembling and finishing the artwork. The entire sculpture requires hundreds of man-hours, bringing this vision into brilliant reality.”
You can get the 48-inch-long (four feet!) quarter-scale Type C for a cool $60,000. If that’s too dear, consider the 12-inch-long 1/16th-scale desktop C for just $3900. Some of us have birthdays coming up, you know, and what better way to show your appreciation than an Auto Union Type C? I’ll be sitting by the mailbox…
