A Mercedes-Benz V-12 is a wonderful bit of machinery that is as exciting when it's working hard in a car as it is just sitting alone on a stand. There are so many beautifully crafted parts that come together to create combustion.
That combustion in turn creates many horsepowers and tons of torques, and this is what makes the Benz customer a happy, smiling driver. How many parts are coming together you might wonder. Artist Eric Van Hove also wondered this, and then found out that the number is 465 parts held together by 660 bolts. He then used that knowledge to reproduce the engine... with bone, wood, and many other materials.
Van Hove has created a hand-built Benz V-12, as detailed by Colossal, and he's done it in a rather beautiful way. He's utilized many different types of wood, there are bits of clay, touches of bone, and many varieties of precious stones. All of it has been used to reproduce the exact parts that make up the big Benz under-hood crusher. It wasn't just Van Hove who assembled and created everything, however, as the artist traveled to Morocco and turned to local artisans for help.
The piece, titled V12 Laraki, was created with the help of 35 master craftsmen found around Morocco. With 53 different materials being employed, the engine has come together in a most stunning way. Of course, it's not a running example as most of this stuff won't exactly handle the stress that an actual V-12 engine experiences. It doesn't matter though, because it doesn't need to run to capture to imagine and heart of most folks who glance upon it.
Were we allowed to commission Van Hove's next piece, we'd probably ask for a Ferrari V-12 or a Ford 427 V-8. Either one would look rather splendid in our living room.
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