“The secret to virality is surprise, and with this project, even the day Slawn painted the car was a surprise to me,” Jimmy Howson tells us on the reveal of his latest viral art car under his new creative agency, Stuff by Spot. This is the third art car he has curated, following on from the Porsche 911 RSR collaboration with Lefty, and the Porsche R-GT by Deathspray. “The first two cars were both Porsches, so it was time for another perfect silhouette: a 105 Series Alfa.”
Specifically, the canvas here is a 1974 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV, and while most art cars never turn a wheel, this Alfa is no gallery queen. Under the hood is a hot 2.0-litre four cylinder equipped with rally cams, polished heads, and Weber-40 carburetors. Elsewhere, a limited slip diff, Alfaholics exhaust and fuel cell, and uprated suspension should help it handle and sound as good as it looks. Then there’s the colour: “I had seen the colour — Francesca Verde — on a 488 Pista at DK Engineering and I though it was the coolest,” Jimmy tells us, and we have to agree, the shade is almost as eye-catching as the graffiti-covered nose.
Of course, no art car is possible without a spectacular artist, and after a single DM with no more explanation than the words “Art Car?”, street artist sensation Olaolu Slawn was more than happy to step in. “I used to play Need for Speed as a kid, but I only got into cars when I realised I could afford them really,” Slawn tells us. “I reference Keith Haring a lot with things like this, and no, it wasn’t my first art car: I bought a Bentley and out of impulse decided to paint it. The Alfa is such a beautiful car, and it’s a lovely canvas.” As with all viral videos, the public reaction ranged from infatuation to horror, which in the world of fine art makes this Alfa a huge success indeed. As for what's next, Jimmy's response is quite simple: "We'll break the internet again, I guess!"
Photos by Jake Boreham
