David Wiener Racing Art
At 16, David Wiener was the youngest professional photographer shooting the America's Cup yacht races. At 18, he was represented by a New York agency and was shooting the Indy 500, US Open Tennis, and Formula One. He then turned his eye to engineering and design, becoming a prolific innovator of products, vehicles, fashion, and brands sold around the world. But he kept his cameras close, documenting his work, eventually turning his many images into modern abstracts designed to elevate automotive artwork. International exhibits, corporate commissions and private collections followed, and reinforced David's belief that car art enthusiasts wanted new ways to enjoy their passion.
Art in a Martini
Mix a Porsche and Martini sponsorship and you are very likely to have a winner. The track record is just that: a Track Record! My long history with Porsche started as a kid, yet unlike the typical kid-story, I put my drive to work and bought a wreck of a 912 while in high school. I earned my "tuition" and used it to learn mechanics, body, paint, and upholstery. It was worth it. I was driving that car by senior year! This art piece uses photographs of Martini decals to create the abstract. The impact of Porsche and Martini Racing is part of me.
Ferrari Mexico
These days, vintage Ferraris are so valuable, most people can't imagine that they once ran in endurance races on open roads. I shot this 1954 Ferrari 375 Carrera Panamericana winner in Maranello, the amazing race graphics acting like a magnet for me. This car won so many races, it was almost magical. I was thrillled to photograph this car as part of a series while in Modena. Just hints of the long decals and words and the 1, 2, and 3, all on the one car, make this piece very unusual in the world of race car numbering.
Formula One As Art
One of the most visual Formula One cars ever conceived was the 1986 Benetton BMW Turbo "Flame Car" and yet, it is always thought of as a car. Even with all my racing background, I always saw it as art and wanted to celebrate it in a way that transcends the garage. Speed. Color. Motion. Excitement. Truth be told, at one point, this car was the centerpiece of my studio. So many decals that were so carefully designed and so elaborately placed. So Benetton!
Porsche RSR Turbo - The Portal
One of the most potent Porsche 911 racing cars ever conceived. In 1974, Porsche introduced the 930 "Turbo" to the world and changed everything. That was the street. Then they did the same thing on the racetrack. The silver, red and blue rocket with the widest fenders and the biggest wing. It defined awesome. It was a sign of things to come. A new era in 911 racing. A portal. This piece features images of those super wide fender flares with their Martini stripes.
1976 Indy 500 Winner
As a senior in high school, my agent called to tell me I had an assignment to shoot the Indianapolis 500. He didn't have to tell me twice! At the time, that was the longest road-trip I'd ever taken. Three days of shooting, and so many stories. Indy was so different back then. This photograph is moments before the start. Johnny Rutherford would win the race from Pole.
Gmund 356 - Metal & Leather
Aluminum. Leather. Glass. Some paint. Race car number one for Porsche. Purposebuilt for racing. Not a converted street car, in 1951, this little sports car won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, belts and all.
The wire mesh headlamp covers designed to protect the glass from stones during the 24-hour race, really drew my attention, given my product and hardware background. Purely for performance, yet ever so stylish.
McLaren Mercury
Formula One has had teams of dominance. One has been McLaren. In 2011, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton were teamed up with the MP4-26 and scored 6 wins and 18 podiums in 19 races. The chromium cars were a visual reminder of McLaren's attention to engineering excellence, detail and professionalism. The sea of silver in this piece is a statement that McLaren is all powerful. Even when their fortunes change, they find a way back.
Going All Hollywood
I was hired by Chip Ganassi Racing and Hollywood Cigarettes of South America to design the branding and team livery for their Indycar Team. After designing the cars, driver and team uniforms, and all the other gear, I was on hand to supervise assorted tidbits. I also got to do my second favorite thing on a race track: shoot photos.
Forza Ferrari - Spa 23
Ferrari and Le Mans. Le Mans and Ferrari. Then as now. And back then, the type 512 Ferrari was as fast as it was beautiful. I was lucky enough to be around some when I worked for Chinetti. Working with Iori, Coco and Francois. Heady times for a college kid. And a continuation of my real education and training, all leading to a life of creativity with a good portion focused on racing, and Ferrari. This piece features the front end of a Ferrari 512 raced in the 1000km Spa-Francorchamps enduro, I photographed in Maranello.
Pirelli F1 - Hearts and Diamonds
I love finding beauty in things that are a total surprise. Like a Pirelli Formula One rain tire. I was shooting at the Monza Grand Prix and the patterns of the grooved "Full Wet" and "Intermediate" tires that help keep F1 cars and drivers on course – hopefully – drew me right in.
Ferrari French
1963 Ferrari 250 LM. I was attracted to the 250 LM as a young kid. As a racing car, it was just so straight forward and so raw. That's the word I have used for decades about "proper" Ferraris. The cars of the era where they made real noises, had real smells, and looked like something from the culture that Enzo himself had created. This piece is from photographs I shot of an LM that was silver with a red and blue stripe. It just feels French to me.
Porsche 956 - Jacky
In 1982, Porsche Launched what would become the next great evolutionary step in its endurance racing story. After the 911, the 917, the 935, and the 936, it was time for another major advance. The 956 was it. The newest monster from Porsche, it shocked the competition. Again. And as usual, Porsche did a spectacular job with the livery of the car, painting it in new sponsor, Rothmans colors. I love this car.
McLaren M6A - Bruce V
Bruce McLaren is the genius behind the McLaren name. An engineer, designer and driver all rolled up in one, back in the days when that's what it took to be great. Endurance racer, Formula One pilot, mechanic, team owner. One of my first Corgi toy cars was a McLaren M8B. I think that was the car that made me want to draw cars, and later, design cars. The shape, the color, the engine stacks. This is a tribute to Bruce. The classic chrome mirrors, lots of decals, the papaya and green. Like a rolling celebration.
Ferrari F1 - Shell Game
Shell and Magneti Marelli were synonymous with Ferrari's Formula One team for so long it seemed like they were more partners than sponsors. And of course, they were, given all the science and development that went into creating the best fuels and technologies to power Jean Todt's amazing team, and driver, Michael Schumacher, to so many championships. Here, the pointy end of the car shows off these partner logos creatingv a sense of the good times that were so often part of the formula.
Ferrari F1 - Niki's Trumpets
I am a sucker for the air intake "trumpets" that sit on top of race engines, gleaming and screaming power and speed. Beautiful shapes that shine and reflect and make you want to head straight to the parts shop and bolt some onto whatever engine you have. Their perfect partner is the hand shaped exhaust manifold. Pure sculpture on its own. I shot an assortment of Niki Lauda's engines in Maranello, knowing I would be overwhelmed in the editing stages of that project. What fun!
Ferrari Life
became excited by Le Mans at about seven. I saw photos of Le Mans cars and that was it. Then I saw Grand Prix at eight. There was no turning back. I was going to be a racing driver. Of course, other things happened, but along the way, Ferrari planted itself in my head and I was lucky to visit the Factory on my engineering pilgrimage at 18, and then work for Ferrari, and later, partner with Ferrari, working closely with Jean Todt, on an extraordinary product. My artwork is simply an extension of my life committed to the aesthetic and culture of the Grand Prix.
Monza - Safety Concerns II
Riding around the Monza racetrack shortly before the 2022 Formula One race, I was taken by the colors and patterns of the painted curbing. Designed to give drivers the best visual indication of track limits and run-off areas, the curbing is meant for safety, not art. This piece mixes my photographs of curbing, grass, sponsor signage and rubber bumper strips to create something that may be hard to imagine came off the famed Monza grand prix circuit.
Porsche 962 - Engine Werks
So many components, screws, belts, pulleys, fittings, hoses. All that design, engineering, assembly, testing. Endless aluminum, magnesium, braided stainless, colors and finishes. All for one purpose. My early days working as an engine builder for the famed Chinetti Ferrari gave me a level of appreciation that spilled over into my life of design, and later, into my art. The 962 engine, with that iconic Porsche cooling fan provided me with endless details to explore for a series of 962 art pieces.
From Building Porsches To Shooting Them
When Porsche unveiled the 935 race car in 1976 to take on Le Mans, I was deep into my Porsche obsession, and that dual-plane rear wing sent me straight to the basement workshop of our house to fabricate my own out of fiberglass and metal (stinking up the place and making myself very unpopular). Shooting the 935 tribute car in Stuttgart brought it all home for me knowing I would be creating new artworks around a shape that meant so much to me in my youth, and for the next 50 years.
Porsche 962 - Art Car
What could be better for me than a Porsche 962 sponsored by a team called Art Sports? It's a set-up. Has to be. But no, it's true. The Art Sports 962 was driven by the incomparable Hurley Haywood. Other 962s were emblazoned with Budweiser, Copenhagen, Coke and such, so discovering a legendary Porsche covered in ART was interesting to say the least. I created a border of the 962's classic BBS racing wheels to add a "frame" to contain this artwork.
Ferrari F1 - Power Grid
Gear and injector details of a Ferrari Formula One engine I photographed during one of my many trips to Ferrari. When I am in the middle of a shoot, it's hard to keep track of all the details. The components. The years. The achievements and results that each of these magnificent machines were responsible for. So much history. So many amazing design details. My version of super-distraction. Do I concentrate on design? Race driving? Mechanics? Or maybe even what I'm going to eat at Cavallino or Montana? It's a constant challenge...get back to work!
Porsche 910 - Esso 39
Big bold graphics and swooping fenders define the Porsche 910. Lots of fibreglass and perspex cover a chassis that today looks downright simple. It's amazing how back in 1967 it was the cutting edge of racing performance. That's what makes motorsport so exciting. The invention, design, engineering, detail. And with it comes the visual onslaught of the shapes and sponsor logos, the colors, and the glamour. To me, all of this makes up what I think of as the culture and art of racing.
Porsche 930 - Whale Tail
The iconic "Whale Tail" wing of the even more iconic Porsche 930 "Turbo" had boys and men drooling back in the mid-seventies. I was right there. In fact, I was fabricating my own copies of Porsche wings to enhance the custom Porsches I would build throughout the late 70s and 80s. This art tribute features the classic 930 wing's black rubber edging on a Guards Red paint job.
Porsche RSR Turbo - Super 8
One of my favorite 911 racing cars, the RSR Turbo was the biggest, baddest thing to hit the track when Porsche rolled it out. All wing and flares, it was almost scary in its aggressiveness. And that just made it even more appealing. I've had an old black and white photograph of this car that's hung on my walls wherever I've lived for the past 30 years or more. A scene from the pits at Le Mans. Raw energy. I got to photograph this car for artwork a couple years ago. So many memories and so many ideas...
Italian Racing Silks
Over the years, my design work has included World Cup skiwear, English sporting fieldwear and elegant sportswear for men and women. Along the way, my mother, who grew up in France, and spent her the last 20 years of her career working for Hermes in New York, taught me a few things about scarves. Working with silk and scarf producers in Italy, we have created some elegant art scarves (90x90cm, 14mm hand rolled, silk twill). These pieces are equally at home being worn or displayed.
McLaren F1 - Suspended Time
The level of detail, craftsmanship and quality that goes into creating Grand Prix racing machines is truly mind-blowing. You have to understand engineering and manufacturing to comprehend just how impressive it is. And they do this on a schedule that is equally extraordinary. Zak Brown welcomed me into the McLaren garage at Monza to photograph material for new artwork. Here is the front suspension. Look closely and you can see their tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.
Ferrari 750 Monza - The Old Art
shot this at the Ferrari factory, in its raw metal glory. There is something so beautiful in not only the finished shape, but in the idea of its fabrication. The rolling. The hammering. The shaping and smoothing. All the fine work that goes into turning a flat sheet into a compound curve. It’s something that has always intrigued me. These metal artisans, as they rolled and formed elegant shapes that were meant to travel at racing speeds in events that were also a dream since childhood. I plan to create more pieces to celebrate this old art.
Red Bull Formula One
Beauty of the Bull
Red Bull has become a dominant force in Formula One. This seems to be a pattern, as it is also dominant in all the sports it gets involved in. Their logo has become synonymous with excellence in sport. Sometimes that's hard to take for a diehard Ferrari F1 guy. But that's part of F1. Competition breeds excellence and innovation. I decided to create a twist on the Red Bull while adding the iconic Esso to remind us that there is a lot of history in F1. Esso has been around F1 long before they started sponsoring the energy drink maker.
Ferrari F1 - Regazzoni Rigatoni
The art of bending and shaping steel tubing for Formula One engine exhaust manifolds is pure magic. Especially back in the 70's when this was done by hand, without the benefit of CAD, computer controlled machines and automation. The physics of matching the lengths of each tube, even though they were bent into different shapes, was critical, to ensure even flow of gases from each cylinder. Engineering into Art. I shot this F1 engine at Ferrari as part of a series on F1 cars.
Ferrari 250 LM - The Rawness
My involvement with Ferrari started very young. My earliest memory was my grandmother sewing me a driving overall of light blue with a Ferrari patch when I was about eight. I worked in the race shop at Chinetti while still in college, and later was an Official Ferrari Licensee having created their most exclusive branded product ever, the DWV Ferrari Art.Engine. With all that history, when asked what my favorite characteristic of a Ferrari is, I always say, the "rawness." Sadly, new Ferraris don't have it.
Creating "Art" For Ferrari
Art comes in many forms. I'm including this as a tribute to Jean Todt and the team I worked with at Ferrari in 2005 as I presented the idea and engineering details for an extraordinary personal audio system. I had recently sold a successful commercial speaker company, SoundTube Entertainment, I had built, and wanted to put all I had learned into a dedicated wireless audio system that would WOW consumers at the highest level. What better way than to partner with Ferrari! Ferrari's head of brand development said it was the only piece of "art" they ever sold! A limited edition of 1,000 pieces.
Mario Andretti
1979 Watkins Glen GP
I managed to create a career that centered around the things that really excited me. It started very early. I was shooting professional sports starting in high school and focused on motorsports, yacht racing and alpine skiing. This image of the World Champion as he sat in the pits at Watkins Glen tells so much. Only four hands as compared to today's endless count. And plug-in communications. You can see from the image that this is truly a close-up, not a telephoto shot from afar. I was straddling the nose of his car. Mario wasn't the only one who was fast that day!
Ferrari F1 - Niki's Wing
Niki Lauda's 1975 Ferrari 312T Formula One car was so iconic. It was not only an amazing piece of engineering, it was also visually fantastic, with its huge airbox that towered over his head and let everyone know he was coming. And wow, did he make the most of it, winning the World Championship in decisive style. I loved the aluminum front wing, showing its origins, its fabrication, the rivets, and that badge of honor. It looks so incredibly simple by today's standards. Danke Niki!
