Rochdale Olympics 2002

The Rochdale Olympics - 2002

Celebrating the world’s first single monocoque fibreglass sports car, the sculpture is a dynamic action sequence of life-size profiles skidding along the street. The work features surface images & text telling the fascinating story of human endeavour & innovation that led to the creation of this cult classic car in the 1960’s.

Adrian was undertaking a residency at Rochdale Development Agency to create a dossier of outline ideas for various public art schemes to enhance the area. His brother Paul remembered The Rochdale Olympic sports car and found an article amongst his collection of old car magazines. Adrian went to meet the Rochdale Owners Club at the NEC Classic Car Show and the idea to make a sculpture featuring the car gained enthusiastic support.

Club members provided great assistance with historic drawings, photos and technical data. Adrian also worked with the original company founders Frank Butterworth & Harry Smith, together with the family of the late Richard Parker, who designed the car. Parker was a modest and unsung genius who went on to invent the original Jet-Ski and water jet engines for lifeboats.

The sculpture received a Civic Trust Award for Design Excellence in 2002.