The Art of Dirt

AUTOart Porsche 917K Winner Sebring 1971, 1/18 – 1 of 1 Finish Line Edition by Jochen Kieslich | Photos by Frank Zinkewitz for Castheads

Part I: ART

Personally, I’m a huge fan of the abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock. Anyone who has ever stood in front of his work “One: Number 31” in New York’s MoMA will understand what I mean when I say that it can be compared to a movie and comes to life in front of the beholder’s eyes. It happened to me that I saw the artist walking around the picture in my mind, working the canvas with paint buckets and brushes. The lines and drops appeared and disappeared on the picture and have deconstructed layer by layer and made the history of the picture visible.

Since I was allowed to see this incomparable work in the original, I have seen the art form of drip-painting or action-painting with different eyes.

This personal background story may be important in the further course of this text in order to be able to understand why I appreciate the refinement of historical racing models, which is very similar in phases, and which is why I try to bring it closer to you, the dear reader.

Every detail counts! Even the spare wheel and the tires get their individual treatment. | Photos by Frank Zinkewitz for Castheads

Part II: DIRT

Racing cars want one thing above all: to win. On this mission there is sometimes jostling here, sometimes scraping, you drive through dirt, rain, tire abrasion and oil splashes on the vehicle and of course something goes wrong during pit stops. All of this leaves traces that marks and scars the hero on its way to victory – or at least across the finish line – and creates and sharpens the individual character.

It is this character that has to be worked out with a finish-line or race-hero refinement and reproduced as faithfully as possible. The model is meticulously worked on in countless techniques and work steps, some of which stretch over several weeks, in order to achieve the most realistic possible condition of a racing car that is actually used.

The pictures of the Porsche 917K with start number 3, as it once helped Elford and Larrousse to victory in Sebring in 1971, show such a model based on a new AUTOart model, which is an absolute highlight of my collection.

It is such a unicorn, because the refinement comes from none other than Jochen Kieslich, who fulfilled a dream for me with this refinement and created an individual 1of1 piece with the help of original images and historical recordings that is as close to the original after the race as it is probably only the original could be itself. If you are interested in his remarkable work, you might even be able to purchase one of Car.timas limited editions featuring his art online.

Spark Porsche 911 RSR, 2nd LMGTE Pro class 24H Le Mans 2019, Car.tima Limited Edition Finish Line by Jochen Kieslich (item 09/15)
Photos by Frank Zinkewitz for Castheads

Part III: EXCITEMENT

So the fascination of finish-line models is not only in the undoubtedly breathtaking look that stands out from the clean polished mass, but above all in the story that the model now has to tell. Just like with drip painting, you can see the mechanic, for example, who is spilling a bit of fuel on the cars body in a hurry, as well as the one bump too much, which is why the bumper can only be held in place with some ducktape, or the falling rocks from driving in the slipstream.

The other models you can see in the gallery are available in limited editions either from Exoto itself or from Car.tima, as long as you can get hold of one.

Exoto AC Cobra 260 Competition, First Racing Cobra 1962, Finish Line Plus | Photos by Frank Zinkewitz for Castheads

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Frank Zinkewitz (IG: @Franks_Showcars) for Castheads.