New Motorsport Artwork From Ricardo Santos Has Arrived In The Shop
Find these prints along with the rest of Ricardo Santos’s work in the Petrolicious Shop
Do you have a few sadly barren walls that don’t have anything to hang in the post holiday slouch? Could they use some color to break up the monotony of blank space? If you’re the type that doesn’t want to hide your “car stuff” in the garage but don’t want a living room wall that flutters with taped-up car posters printed from the internet or torn out of old magazines, there is some middle ground between that and hanging a beautiful car from the ceiling MoMA-style. We feel this tension, which is why we are happy to share some new pieces from one of our favorite artists, Ricardo Santos.
Dripping with so much color they look almost edible, candied, the cars depicted in these prints are those we are all familiar with, but Santos’ unique perspectives and bold palette make their representation here anything but hackneyed. The following have been added to our existing collection of work from Santos, and we are happy to offer them to you, from rally icons to endurance racers and even a touch of the modern.
Chart the evolution of one of the most potent French racing cars ever built. From stints of Group B dominance to the top of Pikes Peak and two overall wins in the grueling Dakar, this jackrabbit of a machine went through a rapid development and evolution process in the 1980s.
Short Graphic Story: Peugeot 205 T16 (link)
Short Graphic Story: Audi Quattro (link)
It’s a similar story for Audi. Though they never conquered the Dakar (at least not with a car bearing the four rings), the Quattro is perhaps the most significant car to appear on a rally stage. Its debut brought about a sea change in the way the sport was approached, and the ramifications of this Audi are still echoing in the WRC today. Plus, the S1E2 in full hill climb regalia is about the most monstrous a car can look.
Porsche 956, 1982 (link)
The winningest endurance car of all time, well, if you include the 962 that was a barely-morphed version of this one. The Porsche 956 was dominant at Le Mans, but it was also a democratizing force in motorsport once the factory team moved on (it’s hard to count the trophies won by privateers in these cars). A winner wherever it was hauled off to, these are the cars that bolstered the Stuttgart marque’s already impressive credentials on the track. Plus, who doesn’t love a nice slab-sided prototype wearing a tobacco logo livery?
24 Hours Of Daytona 2018 Winners (link)
There is seemingly no end to the line of people championing the endurance racing of yesteryear, but to think that today’s teams have it any easier is just naive. Safety has improved, kinks have been ironed out, but unlike the “good old days” the modern crop of drivers have to put in 10/10ths during every stint—there’s not as much need to baby the car for 24 hours now, so even day-long races have become sprints. Featured here is the Cadillac DPI that won last year’s 24 Hours of Daytona with João Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi, and Filipe Albuquerque.
Ferrari 250 GTO, 1962 (link)
The most valuable car of all time wasn’t always just a pretty face, and Bizzarrini’s design proved to be a consistent winner on track before it became an auction house sweetheart. He would famously go on to join the “Palace Revolt” wherein Ferrari’s top talent was dismissed/walked out, and though his work at Iso and later under his own name was laudable, the first series of Ferrari GTOs remains the epitome of his portfolio—as it would for anybody’s should they be so lucky to call such a car their handiwork.
Lancia Delta Integrale, 1988 (link)
If the Delta S4 was coming into its own as Group B rallying was dying out, then the Delta Integrales picked up the pieces when the sport switched to Group A regulations. Between 1987 and 1992 variants of this car clinched the WRC title for Lancia as a manufacturer, and delivered three driver’s titles in that same span. Though not as ludicrous as its cousin that wore the same colors, any rallying Delta in the Martini stripes is a formidable all-surface weapon.
5:19.55 Porsche 919 EVO Timo Bernhard (link)
Timo Bernhard is a modern endurance racing legend, having found overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Daytona, and the Nürburgring just to name drop a few of the places where he’s hoisted a trophy on the top step. To most these achievements would be plenty to be proud of, but this year he claimed a record which had been unbroken for 35 years: the lap record at the Nordschleife. It’s funny how a single lap can bring you more fame than the rest of them combined, but such is the prestige of the title. Of course, it wouldn’t have been possible without the equipment, and the Porsche 919 Evo is a mighty bit of kit.
Lancia Stratos Zero, 1970 (link)
Arguably the most striking concept car of all time, the Stratos Zero can also boast that it gave birth to the Stratos that swept the WRC in the 1970s. The only extant Zero was recently restored back to running condition and shown at Villa d’Este, and it commands even more attention from today’s enthusiasts than it must have while making the motor show rounds in 1970. Almost 50 years later and it still looks like a piece of alien technology mistakenly jettisoned down to mere earthlings like us.
Find these prints along with the rest of Ricardo Santos’s work in the Petrolicious Shop
