This special edition one-off Chevrolet Spark Woody has been created by the American manufacturer as a way to celebrate the company’s heritage and link to the youth culture, so for those that are interested in buying it, this is a car that will serve promotional purposes only.
The Chevrolet Spark Woody was created using a three-quarter vinyl body wrap that creates the wood effect and also features retro style white rims and tires plus a surfboard on its roof.
The Chevrolet Spark Woody is one of the many Art Sparks created by Chevrolet
Europe in 2010, and later this month another unique version, created by 27-year old British artist Ian Cook will appear at the Silverstone Circuit.
The first public appearance for the Chevrolet Spark Woody will take place at Snetterton this weekend.
Chevrolet press release :
Surf’s up dudes – and here’s the proof! Chevrolet, the manufacturer
behind the market-leading 5-Year Promise aftercare package, has pulled
the wraps off a one-off special version of its top-selling Spark
supermini, created to celebrate the brand’s American heritage and
connection to youth culture.
Spotted driving around Newquay, Cornwall, at the start of the annual
Boardmasters surf, skate and music festival, the Spark Woody will go on
to star at the grand final of this year’s Young? Creative? Chevrolet!
arts competition, which takes place in Paris on the eve of the
International Motor Show next month.
The car recalls the dawn of the surf movement in the USA, when, in
the late Fifties and early Sixties, surfers bought ‘Woodies’. These were
traditionally large estate cars based on mainstream models, but with
timber framed bodywork, as they were both cheap and spacious enough to
carry their boards and equipment.
Woody Wagons were immortalised in song, chiefly in The Beach Boys’ Surfin Safari and Jan and Dean’s Surf City, both widely regarded as two of the most famous surfing tunes ever.
Yet even when car makers stopped using wooden frames, an expensive
and difficult production process, the Woody had become so much a part of
American culture that its essence continued, with Chevrolet one of many
US manufacturers who used Di-Noc woodgrained vinyl panelling to
maintain the woody effect.
The Spark Woody was created in the UK for Chevrolet using a
three-quarter vinyl body wrap provided by Pyramid Visuals of Weybridge,
whose speciality is normally in vans and shop frontages. Its roof is
adorned with an Escape Mini-Mal surfboard, made in Cornwall, as its
wood-effect panelling was in keeping with the car’s retro styling.
Chevrolet chose Newquay to show off the car for the first time, as
the Cornish resort is famous across the world for its surfing culture –
the Atlantic Ocean meets the British Isles at one of its narrowest
peninsulas, which gives naturally excellent conditions for surfing.
The Spark Woody is one of a series of Art Sparks created by Chevrolet
Europe in the past year. The first, a unique interpretation of the car
by German fashion designer Smeilinener, made its debut at the final of
the Young? Creative? Chevrolet Art Competition in Berlin last October,
while other Art Sparks include a one-off WTCC leading car by Portuguese
art student Jose Rocha, a YCC winner, and a Spark DJ Car – the world’s
largest record turntable, created by Chevrolet UK this year.
A further Art Spark, created by 27-year old British artist Ian Cook,
will appear later this month at Silverstone Circuit to coincide with the
British Touring Car Championship meeting there, while the Spark Woody
will make its next public appearance this coming weekend at Snetterton,
again tied in to the BTCC.
