Hawthorn on His Way to Victory

This painting by British artist Neil Podbery depicts Mike Hawthorn rushing his Ferrari 375 MM Berlinetta Competizione through an Italian street in the heat of an August day on his way to victory in the 1953 12 Hours of Pescara. The Ferrari was co-driven by Italian starr Umberto Maglioli and produced yet another victory for the famous Prancing Horse marque.

This painting was inspired by a Ferretfotographics image in which the artist found excellent composition from which he could really work. The original reference was in black and white and the car was fairly blurred by the speed at which it was travelling, so Podbery decided—for the first time with a motoring painting—to turn a black-and-white image into a color painting while also showing the car in greater detail and hopefully not losing the original sense of speed.