The Group B 30th Anniversary Box is a Beautiful Celebration of Bonkers Group B
Art by Ricardo Santos
The Group B 30th Anniversary Box is the latest work of Portuguese art director and graphic designer Ricardo Santos. One arrived on the Motorsport Retro doorstep this week for us to take a look at, and it’s glorious.
After working at newspapers like Jornal i, given the Society for News Design’s award for the World’s Best-Designed Newspaper in 2010, ex-rally co-driver Santos began to weave his motorsport passion into his day job, working at Portuguese magazines Turbo and Autosport before tackling a freelance career. He’s since produced covers and illustrations for Racer and Top Gear, as well as Ferrari, Nissan and Red Bull.
The Group B 30th Anniversary Box is a collection of Santos’ work celebrating the four mad years of Group B rally competition that concluded 30 years ago in 1986. 200 boxes have been made and every copy is signed and numbered by the artist.
They include a specially-designed and manufactured Group B box, inside of which sit 10 printed illustrations including five originals and five remasters. The box is a handmade card coated fabric Imitlin Aida Nero and features a magnetic closure. Prints are 48.3 X 32.9 cm, 19 X 12 in, offset prints on Fedrigoni Old Mill Bianco 350g/m2 paper.
Peugeot’s 205 T16, which drove Peugeot to the constructor’s title in 1986 ahead of Lancia, is featured, as is the Lancia Delta S4, Audi Quattro E2, MG Metro 6R4 and Ford RS200 – all in their 1986 FIA World Rally Championship form.
The illustrations capture Group B’s kinetic energy, colour and passion in Santo’s signature design heavy style and are utterly magnificent. The prints themselves are sublime and the entire presentation has a sophistication and quality that should easily earn approval for living room or coffee table presentation.
The Group B 30th Anniversary Box is available on Ricardo Santos’ website at www.ricardo-car-artwork.com for €250.00.
Images and Group B 30th Anniversary Box thanks to Ricardo Santos
