When he’s not designing Bugattis, Etienne Salomé creates striking art

For Bugatti’s deputy chief designer Etienne Salomé, there’s no more effective way of exercising his creativity than through art and sculpture. These are his latest striking pieces, which pay tribute to Porsche and its aesthetic and technological evolution over the last 70 years…

If you followed our recent Geneva Motor Show coverage, you’ll be familiar with Etienne Salomé. As the lead exterior designer on the sensational Bugatti La Voiture Noire, he sat down with us to explain the design process behind the modern-day homage to the legendary Type 57SC Atlantic. But the French-born, Berlin-based designer has another string to his bow – he’s also an accomplished and passionate artist and sculptor and he’s just revealed his latest pieces, this time honouring Ferry Porsche and his eponymous marque’s cult sports cars.

The most striking work, titled ‘70 Years Man Machine’, concerns the tachometer, something Salomé deems a distinguishing feature in every Porsche from the last 70 years and a key device for connecting the driver with the car. The large-scale piece is essentially 35 photographs Salomé has taken of different Porsche tachometers superimposed into one striking ‘chronophotograph’. A second piece, simply called ‘Porsche Tachometers’, shows the entire collection on a white background, allowing the viewer to trace the aesthetic and technological development of Porsche’s analogue tachometers over 70 years. Each artwork will be limited to just 70 pieces, ensuring a level of exclusivity akin to Porsche’s legendary sports cars.