Romanian Artist’s Liquid-Metal Ford Torino Will Be Auctioned in Scottsdale
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This week’s 46th annual Barrett-Jackson's auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. will feature several superstar cars: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 1970 Chevelle; John Lennon’s 1956 Austin Princess; and Steven Tyler’s 2012 Hennessey Venom GT. But the most photographed car in Scottsdale is likely to be a 1971 Ford Torino art car, created by Ioan Florea—a pioneering artist who utilized 3D printers to make his automotive creation. The Torino, which is covered with an animal-like metallic surface, will be auctioned on Wednesday night.
Ian Florean and his 1971 Ford Torino Art Car
Florea grew up in Transylvania, Romania. Compared to the small and utilitarian Communist-era cars in his homeland, America’s big and bold vehicles were awe-inspiring to Florea. It’s partly what drew him to the United States in the late 1990s to pursue a master’s degree in painting—which he earned from the University of South Dakota in 2001.
As a child, Florea collected animal bones in a nearby forest. Butchering your own animals was illegal under the Communist regime, so local people hid the remains from the Romanian government. Even as a graduate art student, Florea continued to collect animal bones on excursions into the Dakota plains. Much of his art - opens in new window or tab. is based on his life-long fascination with bones, animal structures, and vertebrae—and how they are transformed by the earth. These forms can be seen in the sinewy shapes of the ‘71 Torino’s exterior.
Florea is also inspired by nanotechnology, which led him to use 3D technology with custom pigments and other materials including metals. In addition to relatively traditional paintings and sculptures, he has used the 3D printer to make outlandish objects such as a giant abstract “American dream” vending machine and a 19th century wagon that replaces canvas with a metallic covering.
These diverse fascinations and methods come together in the 1971 Ford Torino being auctioned by Barrett-Jackson. Florea developed the art car’s initial shape using design software, and then utilized a large 3D printer in Germany to make prototypes. He added pieces from his home studio’s 3D printer and placed them on the Torino before adding a “liquid metal” to cover the biodegradable polymer surface—fusing everything together. More than five 55-gallon drums of polymer were used in the process. To lighten the vehicle’s structure, he removed the engine and seats, so this Torino is not drivable.
It took six months to finish the piece. Florea debuted his car sculpture at the 2014 New York International Auto Show, where it garnered more attention than many of the show’s unveiled models. By Florea's count, the Torino has been featured in more than 100 articles.
After Florea decided to sell the piece, he wasn’t sure about the right venue. “I’m not a car guy,” he admits. Florea recently consigned the car with Barrett-Jackson, and subsequently agreed with the auction’s idea of highlighting the artwork with a timed sale in Scottsdale. Florea doesn’t know who might buy it, but he hopes it goes to an art collector who fully appreciates the wonders of ancient animal structures and the marvels of modern 3D printers—and especially shares his love of American muscle cars.
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