Peter Klasen is a German artist known for his collage-like Pop Art paintings and prints. Using an airbrush, the artist contrasts images of industrial objects like pressure gauges and hydraulic circuits, with sexually charged images of nude women. Over the years he has applied his craft to a number of vehicles, from supercars to racing cars.

In 1998 and 1999, the Sonauto team paired gentleman racer Francois Lafon and former Formula 1 driver Jean-Pierre Jarier together in the French GT Championship driving a rather striking 911 GT2 EVO. The team decided to have the car painted by Klasen, resulting in the ‘art car’ you see here.

Midway though the 1998 season, the car was destroyed in a race at the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans. A replacement was ordered by Lafon and Porsche supplied a brand-new car immediately. Lafon convinced Klasen to paint the same livery for the second time on the brand-new car that he would now use to complete the season. Klasen repainted the car and named it ‘Klasen 2’. On October 18th the new car was ready for the Magny-Cours round where it finishes second in the first race and won the second race.

The team eventually finished the 1998 season as champions, and repeated the feat the following year giving the car two consecutive French GT championships. After 1999 season the car was retired to Lafon’s private collection.

This beautiful 1998 Porsche 911 (993) GT2 EVO is currently available from Historic Cars in Paris.

historiccars.fr

The Pop Art Champion