Joel Clark’s Porsche pARTs 917 Doors Are Now Available In The Petrolicious Shop

It’s a given that any racing enthusiast dedicates at least some portion of daily thought to the tableaus of famous drivers, cars, and tracks instead of the less important things in life (read: most things). And if you’re one of these people who wishes the view from their desk was the Mulsanne Straight instead of a computer screen and a coffee mug, Joel Clark, the artist behind Porsche pARTs, can help you out with that problem. 

Created through the partnership of artist Joel Clark and Porsche 906, 908, and 917 recreationists Kraftwerkz, these sculptures combine Kraftwerkz’ fiberglass doors (produced from molds of identical specification to the original 917) with Joel’s hand-cut-and-laid vinyl designs to produce these stunning snapshots of what it may have looked like to be barreling along at speed next to arguably the icon of racing cars.

The genesis behind this project came from two separate clients of Joel’s who had come to him with commission projects involving the 917. The first wanted an original piece of artwork featuring the car, and offered to supply replica 917 parts to help with the project. So when another client came asking for a piece that involved transferring a scene from the famous film, Le Mans, onto the door of a 917, the idea came together to expand this work into a series of sculptures featuring at-speed reflections on top of the 917’s most notable liveries.

The collection features the instantly recognizable paint schemes from the Le Mans-winning Team Salzburg car, the Martini 917LH, and of course the blue and orange of Gulf. Along with these, the infamous “Pink Pig” and “Hippie” cars are also available, though not pictured.

The designs are created with vinyl pieces initially drawn out over a photocopy of a computer manipulated image, before being cut and layered onto the three-dimensional surface to produce a glossy and tactile finish. And with this collage-like vinyl work being done by hand, every door produced is a wholly unique piece; each one almost like a split second difference in the camera’s shutter as the reflections stretch and bounce endlessly with the slightest changes in position. When the exact moment of the 917’s hurtling form reflecting the still world around it is captured in Joel’s highly saturated, pop-art color, the door receives a coat of professionally applied lacquer to provide a deep gloss to the finished sculpture that is easy to care for and keep clean.

Besides making for a great piece of art to mount near your severely 917-lacking workspace or elsewhere, these doors will theoretically bolt right up to a real 917, because who says art can’t be practical? Any chance to get closer to what it’s like to race with 917s sounds like a goof formula to us, so Petrolicious is now proud to offer these visceral, surreal sculptures in our shop alongside a selection of Joel’s prints. 

If you’d like to order a “Pink Pig,” “Hippie Car,” or a custom door, Joel can be contacted at: joel_a_clark@hotmail.com