Products of the month: And... action!

September 24th 2020

Dave Clark Designs automotive sculptures

You may not have heard of British engineer and designer Dave Clark, but chances are you’ve seen his work even if you didn’t know it. When he’s not busy creating vehicle concepts for movies, he also does a fine line in automotive art, too.

Having worked on such Hollywood big hitters as Ready Player One, Mission Impossible: Fallout and Terminator: Dark Fate, there’s certainly some pedigree to Dave Clark Designs, the firm he established just over a decade ago from his workshop in Bedfordshire. He’s now able to make a whole range of products to order, from automotive-themed lounge chairs, to engine tables, aeroplane sculptures and more. But what really interests us is his range of silhouette car sculptures, which are guaranteed to grab interest.

Using the lines of any specific race or road car design, all of the key design elements are 3D modelled, precision laser cut from steel and then hand-formed to create the
1:8-scale skeletal shapes of the cars we know and love. Each is then hand-painted to ensure the correct livery and mounted on a solid-oak, carbon or road-effect base.

While there’s already a range available – from classic cars, to modern GTs via Can-Am monsters – you can have any model you like, as Dave takes commissions. Some of our favourites include the Gulf-liveried Porsche 917K and a variety of McLarens.

From £495, daveclarkdesigns.com

Bowmore Aston Martin DB5 Edition

Aston Martin isn’t hanging around with its collaborations. First we had helicopters, then motorcycles and now we have this first instalment of a new tie-up with Scotch whisky distillery Bowmore. This batch, Black Bowmore DBS 1964, is the first release as part of a new collection. The lovely dark-brown liquid is a walnut brown oloroso sherry butt. It was a significant year for the brand, given that 1964 was the year its first modern steam boiler was installed, bringing the distillery into the modern age of whisky making. Just 27 bottles have been created, with a genuine heritage DB5 piston part of each.

£50,000, bowmore.com

Airfix rally models

Best known for its military and aircraft build-it-yourself models, Airfix has been known to branch out into four-wheeled kits from time to time. Coming soon is a new Small Starter Set collection of famous rally cars, including Carlos Sainz’s Ford Focus, Petter Solberg’s Subaru Impreza and Marcus Grönholm’s Peugeot 206. Each consists of 28 parts and will be 1:43-scale when assembled and painted. They can be purchased separately or as a three-kit Rally Car Collection display set. Fancy something a bit different? The Peugeot 205 T16 Paris-Dakar challenger from 1987 is also on the way (left). Suitable for ages eight and over. Pre-order available prior to a winter release.

£12.99 (individual), £34.99 (three-car set), airfix.com

Ferrari gaming headset

With the esports boom, gaming accessories are becoming bigger business, and that’s led to a host of new tie-ups between leading manufacturers of both the real and virtual racing worlds. Take this new T.Racing Scuderia Ferrari gaming headset from Thrustmaster as a prime example. Modelled on Ferrari’s actual F1 team headsets, you can let your inner Mattia Binotto shine as you shout expletives into the microphone as you go off for the third time on your out-lap… or perhaps that’s your
inner Arrivabene talking? Either way it features high-quality surround-sound speakers with memory foam padding to ensure the upmost comfort and a fully adjustable unidirectional microphone.

£90, store.ferrari.com