The Art is in the Car

It's fair to say that Ian Cook, better known as PopBangColour, takes something of an unconventional approach to create his automotive artworks. Rather than use brushes, he makes his unique artwork with the wheels of remote-controlled cars.

This eccentric, performative technique – and the bold eye-catching artwork it creates – has taken him around the world and won a Guinness World Record. He’s even painted with Disney for Cars, and had a giant portrait of Lewis Hamilton displayed on London’s Tower Bridge.

Ian’s latest commission will undoubtedly go down as another highlight of his 18-year career as an automotive artist: a Radical SR3 art car. And after he completed the hard work, crowds flocked to his stand at the Goodwood Festival of Speed to see the striking finished vehicle.

“The thing about a Radical is it’s a three-dimensional canvas and it’s all based on aero,” he explains. “So when we’ve done panels in the past, they were flat and fixed. But the art car panels you can take off. On the Radical lines are very curved, and I started from a blank canvas, but I knew the bodywork on the side would be for sponsors because the way I work means I can’t paint vertically.”

Ian’s SR3 is dubbed the ‘Rad and Cool’ Radical art car in reference to the 1990s and the neon theme of the commission. Bringing the livery together are the outlines of 32 different track layouts around the globe, where Radical races across 14 championships. Radical’s home circuit, Donington Park, graces the clamshell bonnet, while Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit, host of the 2024 Radical World Series finale, graces the rear.

“I had no idea how it would look before I started, but I wanted it to be tactile,” Ian continues. “I thought back to Andy Warhol’s BMW M1 Art Car. He painted it, and it raced. This year I saw the latest BMW Art Car at Le Mans, and it was a wrap. Is that truly an art car? I’m not sure. Today, everything is about performance, so you can’t just paint a car because you’re adding weight.

“The Radical had to be a living, breathing piece. It’s nothing like working on canvas, because the paint doesn’t soak into the surface, so I chased it over the bodywork with hairdryers to try to get it to run up and over the wings. In the beginning I was a bit nervous, because there’s only one car and it was prepped for me. But as soon as I got over that hurdle, it was easy to crack on.”

From a distance the Rad and Cool SR3 pops with colour, but as you get closer it’s the smaller details that surprise and delight. Miniature tyre prints, subtly add texture to the surface and you can see where the colours have been chased in different directions. Other neat touches include the bespoke emblems – miniaturised versions of a full-scale artwork – as well as the 648 race number, which references Radical’s 2009 Nürburgring lap record, 6 minutes 48 seconds.

“I love motorsport. Not just Formula 1 or Touring Cars – all of it,” Ian enthuses. “It’s been great to work on this car with a free rein, and bring it to Goodwood.”

The plan is for the Rad and Cool car to race in the Hagerty Radical Cup UK fifth round at Silverstone Circuit. “I can’t wait to see the car run at Silverstone with The Wing building in the background. It’s going to look really cool."

Read the full Radical Magazine - Issue 2 here.