Force India will sell a hand-painted version of their first F1 car to raise money for two initiatives.
The VJM01, chassis number five, had been painted by automotive artist Dexter Brown. The car was used by Giancarlo Fisichella in 16 races in 2008.
The money raised will be split between Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and Force India’s Academy which promotes motor racing to children in India.
Brown said: “When I was approached by Erik Meijer to paint an Art Car, I was immediately excited by the project.
“Of course, it’s not the first car I’ve painted, but it’s the first time I’ve had the chance to work with a modern Formula 1 car. The last car I painted was a BMW in Genoa in 1993, but the Formula 1 car was a different challenge because I had to work around the complex bodywork.”
Another charity initiative for the British Grand Prix will see a group of F1 drivers run a lap of the circuit to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. You can donate money to the fund here.
2011 British Grand Prix
Image © Force India F1 Team
Hamish
5th July 2011, 10:34
And thus, the rumours are crushed – Vijay has a heart.
timi
5th July 2011, 14:14
Not really. I really hate how millionaires and billionaires throw a fundraiser, or sell something for charity and then seem like saints.
This, from wikipedia,-
I understand he’s “worth” 1.4billion USD, so obviously actually has less in the bank, but come on, he should just give 5million to charity. 5 million dollars is just 0.277% of his net worth. God, I hate rich people who don’t give as to charity as they should
Auctioning a hand painted F1 car! Please.
Kenny
5th July 2011, 14:35
So…you think he shouldn’t do this…???
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders)
5th July 2011, 15:14
I agree- but it’s better than nothing, I suppose. I suppose billionaires wouldn’t make so much money by being generous and selfless
BasCB (@bascb)
5th July 2011, 19:56
Pretty much to the point Ned!
UKfanatic (@)
5th July 2011, 16:57
If I owned an uncompetitive team in formula 1 I wouldnt sell any car, offering it is outrageous, if you compare Vijay with every other team owner you will find out that he is quite poor
MVEilenstein (@mveilenstein)
5th July 2011, 17:27
Rich people don’t get rich by giving their money away.
colinf (@colinf)
5th July 2011, 18:44
Again, why does it seem that the English are obsessed with this idea that rich people some how must sacrifice their earnings. Maybe Mr Mallaya is a jerk, I don’t know, but he did EARN that money and it is his to use as he pleases. I will say this: He was very generous in letting my local group of F1 fans go through his incredible garage North of San Francisco. We could literally sit in some of the more rare and collectible automobiles in history, including F1 machinery. How bad could he be if he is willing to let a group of strangers play with his toys?
MVEilenstein (@mveilenstein)
5th July 2011, 22:25
I have no idea. I don’t begrudge his success in the least. Rich people give the rest of us jobs and paychecks.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
6th July 2011, 8:25
Exactly. He earner that money. He could set it on fire if he wanted to for all I care.
AlonsoWDC
5th July 2011, 20:17
This kind of comment is just the worst.
Look at yourself, raining on a charity story.
Yeah it’s free PR to anyone’s credit, but it’s charity just the same.
And are you being petulant or are you being just foolish to suggest that 2.77% of someone’s net worth (when worth that much money to begin with) is a negligible amount?
Easily the worst COTD.
colinf (@colinf)
5th July 2011, 20:57
Exactly. Who are we to determine is VJ motivation is “greed” or “ambition?” What would be a “fair” or “just” amount for him to give to charity?
According to our laws, and what most civilized parts of the world have defined as justice, VJ is free to do as he pleases with his money provided he has not run afoul of any laws.
Do you have factual evidence that he has done so?
Perhaps he privately gives to charity and you don’t know about it?
It is easy to stand on the sidelines and feel “outrage” because you think that something is not “fair.” But your country, as does mine, as laws about what is “just” and a feeling of outrage or unfairness does not equate to an injustice.
Leave the man alone, he has provided services to millions who have freely compensated him for said services whilst creating jobs all around the world. Oh yeah, AND he is doing a charity this week.
AlonsoWDC
6th July 2011, 2:27
2.77% is an error I read wrong, but 0.27% is still nothing to sneeze at either.
Prisoner Monkeys
6th July 2011, 7:18
Where is it written that rich people absolutely must give to charity? I’d much rather them not give anything at all than to simply give away a set percentage of income because they were obhligated to.
beneboy (@beneboy)
5th July 2011, 10:41
A lovely idea and lots of respect to Force India for doing this for charity but is that really the paint job it’s going to end up with ?
It looks like the sort of thing my 4 year old niece does when she gets her paintbox out, surely a professional artist could come up with something better than this ?
If they were just going to put a load of random coloured lines and blobs on it they could have got a load of schoolchildren to do it and saved themselves the time and effort of getting a professional artist in to do the work.
Fixy (@)
5th July 2011, 11:12
I’d rather buy an original car with its original livery, it’s part of history.
SparkyJ23 (@sparkyj23)
5th July 2011, 11:57
ALL of this guys ‘Art Cars’ look like a 4 yr pld went at it.
Horrible but at least the car has REAL value despite the graffiti
ajokay (@)
5th July 2011, 16:51
Some of those BMW “Art” Cars are truely awful.
Have you seen the Andy Warhol one? looks like he’s just thrown random pots of Dulux at the thing.
BasCB (@bascb)
5th July 2011, 19:57
I wouldn’t bet against that having been the exact process of how it got painted :-(
bearforce1
6th July 2011, 10:11
+1. Why change it.
Stephen Jones (@aus_steve)
5th July 2011, 11:07
wow, the car’s beautiful! rather see it on track than in a gallery though..
Prisoner Monkeys
5th July 2011, 11:18
It looks really good. They should race it at some point this year. Like in India.
sennafan
5th July 2011, 17:07
appears prisoner monkeys has seen much of india!
BasCB (@bascb)
5th July 2011, 19:57
I thought the same, a bit more fun and something new. Like some of the Benneton liveries used to be.
Trix (@)
5th July 2011, 11:29
I’m underwhelmed. The general pattern isn’t too bad although lacking in sophistication. But boy, post-cubism meets design from the early 1980’s doesn’t tickle my fancy. Also, the finishings are not quite top notch.
But it’s charity, what else can you expect?
Doance (@doance)
5th July 2011, 12:40
I want it!
dennis (@dennis)
5th July 2011, 12:41
Does it come with a drivetrain?
John H
5th July 2011, 13:45
A noble cause (of course) to be applauded, but what’s happened here is that an ‘artist’ has ruined a piece of art. Just leave it blank and let the car speak for itself for pete’s sake.
Woffin
5th July 2011, 14:04
Actually love that paintjob! Just a shame we’ll never see something like that on track.
Raja
5th July 2011, 15:00
How come ForceIndia Academy is considered charity?? Although it’s aim to develop young drivers in india, in a way it is not a charity in & out. Vijay never fails to find business in charity also.. :(
electrolite (@electrolite)
5th July 2011, 15:18
Now that’s what I call a livery!
Guerra
5th July 2011, 17:12
How much would this go for? I saw 5 million above… Do other teams do this and if so how often?
dave
5th July 2011, 22:26
If I buy it (I probably wont) the first thing I’ll do is get a hose and a scrubbing brush.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
6th July 2011, 8:23
It looks like it got on a fight with a chunk of its own carbon fibre.
I like it.
LuvinF1
6th July 2011, 15:23
I hope the “artist” didn’t get paid for that. And did he write “FaRce india” on the front wing? I also hope they at least give it a clear coat when he’s “done”.
Calum
6th July 2011, 22:13
It’s livery is nicer than that of the Brawn GP BGP001 art car Mercedes take with them to public demonstrations…