Many car lovers view cars and auto parts as art forms. Bob Drake of Bob Drake Reproductions Inc. has raised the bar for automotive art by commissioning a large-scale sculpture by Las Vegas artist Evgeni Vodenitcharov. The V-8 Goddess was unveiled at the S.E.M.A. Show in Las Vegas on November 4, 2008. The 8-foot-tall chrome sculpture is the largest hood ornament in the world and is most definitely pedal-to-the-metal high art.

Drake has for years admired the mascots and hood ornaments of early 1900s automobiles. “Sadly, these little works of art are largely missing from modern automobiles—these days it’s sometimes difficult even to tell what brand a vehicle is,” he said.

He wanted to develop an image that would celebrate the early-day hot rod spirit and also pay homage to Henry Ford’s magnificent accomplishment in 1932: the release of his powerful V-8 engine. The idea for the Goddess came to Drake in a dream. “As I dropped off to sleep, I had in mind the extraordinary Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, a beautiful woman trailing a windswept cloak,” he said, “I dreamed of a contemporary figure that was at once beautiful, graceful, proud, and powerful — all in chrome.”

Randy Johnson, Drake’s marketing director, located two world-class sculptors: Daniel Miller of Roseburg, Oregon (sculpture on Hollywood movies Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Stargate, The Rocketeer, Chronicles of Riddick, and sculpture at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas), and Evgeni Vodenitcharov of Las Vegas, Nevada. “Ev” is from Pleven, Bulgaria, and is a classically-trained sculptor who earned his B.F.A. from the University of Veliko Turnovo and came to America in 1994. Along with Miller, he has created sculptural installations in Las Vegas casinos like The Venetian, Palazzo, and Treasure Island.

	Sculptor/artist Daniel Miller of Roseburg, Oregon, collaborated with Vodenitcharov on the original concept sketch of the Goddess. Miller has created the sculptural backgrounds for several Hollywood movies.
Vodenitcharov delivered the 24" maquette of the Goddess to Drake’s offices in Grants Pass, Oregon.

With guidelines similar to those used by Rolls Royce in the early 1900s for the Ecstasy hood ornament, the two artists collaborated on the original concept sketch of the Goddess. The figure was to capture the essence of grace, strength, speed, pride, and beauty, and to incorporate several Ford-specific parts and emblems. The final figure was to stand atop a 1932 Ford radiator cap and hold up in the air the symbol that became synonymous with Ford: the V-8 emblem.

Three-time Indy 500 champion Johnny Rutherford helped Drake reveal the work of art by removing its black satin drapery in a ceremony on the first day of the S.E.M.A. Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Miller said, “It has, I guess you could say, its roots in a lot of different classical directions, from Grecian sculptures to the Emmy Awards.”

Vodenitcharov used his wife Reni as an anatomical reference model for the V-8 Goddess, as he has with many of his previous artworks. He first created a 24-inch-tall painted maquette. The purpose of the maquette, or miniature statue, was as a planning “sketch” for scaling up to the 8-foot-tall artwork. The full-size piece was first sculpted in Styrofoam, which was sanded and smoothed with wallboard compound. A silicone mold with a Fiberglas shell was made from the Styrofoam figure, and the final sculpture is formed from Fiberglas. Sanded to an ultra-smooth surface, the Fiberglas V-8 Goddess was painted in a primer coat and then a high tech paint that closely mimics the look of chrome, and finally finished with several coats of high gloss clear coat. The highly reflective V-8 Goddess is displayed on a three-foot-tall faux granite pedestal.

The V-8 Goddess was a popular "photo-op" for many visitors to the 2008 SEMA Show.

The sculpture was a show-stopper, one of the most photographed objects at the show. Mercedes Terrell, a stunning Los Angeles model working at the show for Mishimoto Automotive, said, “I saw the V-8 Goddess. She’s awesome!”

Eventually, the sculpture will go on tour, possibly being loaned for six months at a time to venues like the Indy 500, Don Garlits, Ford, and Peterson museums.

To see other examples of Evgeni Vodenitcharov’s sculpture, go to:  www.iconsculpting.com