The Mercedes Engine That Was Completely Rebuilt From Odd Materials

I’ve always liked the Mercedes brand, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. If you are into car engines, this one will be unlike any engine you’ve ever seen before. If you had some time on your hands, and a V12 Mercedes engine, what would you do with it? Artist Eric van Hove decided that with the help of his posse (35 master craftsmen), he was going to take the entire Mercedes engine apart and rebuild it with 53 odd materials. The end result is stunning.

I’ve never seen intense creativity like this applied to a car engine, much less a Mercedes engine. First they had to completely take apart the original V12 engine, which was not easy. Then they recreated every single part with a part they made themselves from unusual materials. Their new engine has 465 parts that they handmade themselves, plus 660 copper bolts. It took them 9 months to complete this project, and they named their creation the V12 Laraki.

If you click over to eMercedesBenz, you can see the whole list of 53 materials that were used. I won’t list them all here since it would be so long, but I’ll just say the list includes things like unusual woods, recycled aluminum, green onyx, tigers eye, marble, goatskin, cow horn, fossils, cotton and henna (that is just a small sampling).

Eric created this in Morocco, and the 35 master craftsmen who helped him were also all in Morocco. This redesigned Mercedes engine represents Morocco, and all the natural resources that can be found in that country. Of course, this engine won’t be going into a car. It also won’t be going anywhere else, well, without a crane or something to lift it. It weighs 830 pounds (380 kg). Awesomeness!