Nicolas Hunziker’s “#HunzikerArtCar” Will Change the Course of Creativity

By Manuel Carrillo III - May 12, 2017

Nicolas Hunziker's 1999 Porsche 911 GT3R Strassenversion

Here’s how world-renowned artist Nicolas Hunziker is using a project Porsche to revolutionize the creative world.

As a Porsche fan, chances are you know the name Hunziker. His art has likely affected you in the same way you’ve experienced catharsis over works from Warhol, Dali or Basquiat. Hunziker knows how to use art to speak to the hearts of Porsche enthusiasts the world over.

This is because Hunziker is a die-hard Porsche enthusiast himself. Beyond his natural talent for creating fine art, his ability to relate and connect with the passions of the Porsche community allows his art to “push the right buttons”.

For those who don’t know Hunziker, the man’s artwork grew from a seed of passion that budded into a hobby. That hobby flowered into a career in 2007, and has since ripened into a legacy.

Today you can see some of his paintings on permanent display at the Porsche Club of America’s headquarters, Porsche’s North American headquarters, and the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. Over the past 10 years, Hunziker has also worked on projects, licensing and partnership with the McQueen family, James Hunt, McLaren, Gulf Racing and Le Mans, to name a few.

Now that Hunziker has a decade of creating fine art behind him, he’s looking to celebrate. What he has planned will only expand his already robust impact on the automotive world, and likely could break him into the mainstream.

#HunzikerArtCar Project

Nicolas Hunziker's 1999 Porsche 911 GT3R Strassenversion

As we know from the works of Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Alexander Calder with classic BMWs, art cars are nothing new. However, Hunziker is taking the art car principle, and is turning it on its head. Instead of the “car as canvas” approach, Hunziker plans to create a car by creating art.

As Hunziker explains on his website, HunzikerArtCar.com, “I will trade you the equivalent value in art. Let’s say you provide the wheels I’m looking for, and we agree the value of the wheels is $8,000. In that case you will receive $8,000 of my artwork.”

“The aim is to build the missing link
between the 996.1 GT3 and 996.2 GT3 RS”

What kind of car does Hunziker plan on creating? A 1999 Porsche 911 GT3 R Strassenversion. We place emphasis on the word “creating” because beyond having yet to exist in physical form, prior to hitting Hunziker’s mind, the Porsche 911 GT3 R Strassenversion has never existed even in conceptual form. Much more like a work of art than a standard art car, then, pure imagination will bring this Porsche to life.

In our opinion, this takes the idea of the art car to the next level. Turning an automobile into art is great, but creating a car that has yet to exist, and deriving it from art that also has yet to exist is alchemical. When both the vehicle and the body of artwork are complete, the significance will be magical.

Breaking the magic down into its individual components, obviously each Hunziker Art Car piece will be brilliant … because Hunziker. The car itself will be remarkable, too.

CHECK OUT: #HunzikerArtCar in Finer (Art) Detail

“The aim is to build the missing link between the 996.1 GT3 and 996.2 GT3 RS,” Hunziker says. “In 1999, Porsche built two GT3 R prototype racing cars that ran at Le Mans of that year…. In many ways, history was repeating itself: The 911 R from 1967 led to the iconic 1973 Carrera RS, and in turn, the 1999 GT3 R led to the rebirth of the RS nameplate with the 2004 GT3 RS (based on the 996.2).”

“Unlike the the 1967 911 R model, the 1999 GT3 R model was never released as a street-legal car. This, then, finally brings us to the car of my affection: a 1999 GT3 R Strassenversion (German for street version). The birth model of all the modern RS iterations, a car that never existed, but to my mind it should have, and now I attempt to build it.”

Ten years ago, Hunziker’s career began by filling a hole in the market. Embarking on the next 10 years, Hunziker is now creating a work of art that fills a hole in Porsche history. We’ve heard of art that transcends time, but we’ve yet to hear of art that serves to travel back in time. This lifts the creative paradigm. The #HunzikerArtCar project is yet to begin, and we’re already feeling cathartic.

Join us in following the Hunziker Art Car project’s development at HunzikerArtCar.com, and check out our gallery below of Nicolas Hunziker’s Light Ivory 1968 911 Sports Purpose cars at this year’s Luftgekühlt along with the 1999 GT3 R Strassenversion #HunzikerArtCar.