I’ve always admired a clean engine bay. But no matter how hard I polish or how much grime I scrape away, it’s never quite good enough. Maybe it’s the artist in me, but I’m constantly fighting the urge for perfection. But really, perfection can only be a relative term to define where an artist can safely end a project of passion.
Project of passion indeed. A recent acquisition by the Hood Museum of Art down the street from where I work in Hanover, NH recently caught my attention. It was a full-size replica of a Mercedes-Benz OM137 engine, but unlike any that I have ever seen. Its creator was the Cameroonian-raised-Belgian sculptor Eric van Hove, and he dubbed the piece ‘V12 Lareki’. Employing dozens of Moroccan artists, all 455 parts were carved by hand using wood, metal, shells, stone, animal bones, fossils, and gemstones – including the 660 engine bolts. AlJazeera explained that fifteen types of wood were used: the cylinder heads were made from white cedar from the Middle Atlas mountains.
The cooling system was made from pink apricot wood, the valves were made from lemon wood and the crankshaft of orange wood, the power steering system of ebony, and the intake manifold from yellow copper, brass, and tin (it looked almost like they were wrapped in gold). The pistons were made from 80 million year-old ammonite fossils. The coolant lines were braided from strips of cow and goat leather. The engine looks like an ancient artifact carved for a king and kept in a royal treasury. I could hardly keep my hands off it! Museum security had to move me along as I was literally accumulating a noticeable puddle of drool on the floor – and I was not the only one. There was a small crowd of auto enthusiasts growing around the display like moths drawn to a flame.
This was not Eric’s only creation – he seems to getting attention worldwide for his epic engine and transmission builds, which tour European museums. He recently completed a massive replica Caterpillar DT9 of about 300 parts using 44 materials including: purple heart wood from Brazil; tatjuba wood from Suriname; wenge wood from Congo; mother of pearl from Java; cow, goat, and camel bones; malachite; agate; green onyx; tigers eye; cow and goat skin; red, black, and white marble; and many more.
When AlJazeera asked Eric to comment on his build, he expressed, “An engine is a huge gathering of parts. Some are very big and some are small, but they all have to fit together perfectly. If a bolt is missing it doesn’t go further than your front yard. It is a metaphor for the world’s system, from micro to macro; it’s a metaphor for society.”
eEuroparts.com may not offer gemstone-encrusted alternators and their pistons may not be fossilized, but rally racers trust their products, and so do I. Maybe viewing this exhibit was a bad idea, but now I feel the urge to go farther – to take the time to nail the details and curate my engine bay into an art exhibit of its own (I went online as soon as I got home and finally ordered a stainless steel valve cover dress up kit).
Check out Eric’s Facebook page for all the pictures you can handle of his incredible engine builds. Then check out eEuroparts.com’s detailing kits to create your own work of art – I recommend the chrome and aluminum paste for polishing metals, cold motor cleaner for oil residue, or better yet, the Stage 4 detailing kit if you want your engine bay to really shine. We all have an artist in us… how far will you go towards perfection?
