ARTIST'S MUSE

Artist's Muse

Manu Campa talks us though his well known 911 2.7 “IROC” and the place it has in his Madrid studio.

“To me the car is a tribute to the toys we played with when we were kids.” Says Manu Campa, the Madrid-based artists with more than his fair share of the automotive in his portfolio. In a lifetime of painting, Manu has learned to recreate curves and reflections in incredible detail, including those of his own 1974 Porsche, which instigated this particular visit to his studio.

“I’ve been an artist all my life. I started with urban landscapes, and then moved to classic bicycles as inspiration. One day, I bought myself a 1953 Beetle, and that car started it all for me. Year after year I’ve fallen into the classic car world throughout my work, painting portraits of cars from all over the world. The Beetle led to a Ford Model A, which I eventually sold for this 2.7 Carrera.”

Though a Carrera 2.7 in standard guise doesn’t exactly look pedestrian, Manu’s car has obviously undergone a few exterior modifications to look the way it does, taking heavy inspiration from the IROC 3.0 RSR Porsches that represented the most extreme 911-based race cars available at the time. Some of these parts existed on the car long before he got it, but more were added as Manu leant further into the look.

“I added that big RSR spoiler and the decals to the kit the car came with. I thought of returning it to the original impact bumpers and narrow body with the ducktail it left the factory with, but it’s been travelling the world as is for 50 years, so who am I to change it?

“To me the car is a tribute to the toys we played with when we were kids.”

"This car means more to me than anything else I have. I’ve been painting Porsches for more than ten years, I know every corner and every angle of these cars and driving 8 hours home with my dad the day I bought it is something I’ll never forget."

This car means more to me than anything else I have. I’ve been painting Porsches for more than ten years, I know every corner and every angle of these cars and driving 8 hours home with my dad the day I bought it is something I’ll never forget. It’s one of these ‘love it or hate it’ cars, but it has huge personality. Pushing the revs up slowly produces this lovely sound and feeling and it’s the perfect daily in Madrid!”