Motoring art: Jiří Rameš

By Mick Walsh

| 13 Dec 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Motoring art: Jiří Rameš

Be it a Grand Prix Bugatti ripping up a dusty Klausen hillclimb or a frantic pitstop at Spa, few subjects intimidate Czech motoring artist Jiří Rameš.

Born in 1954, from an early age Jiří has been fascinated by all things automotive and as a youngster he didn’t want to draw or paint anything else.

“I think I was born with a drop of petrol in my blood,” says Jiří. “My parents never owned a car and I was the first when, aged 23, I saved enough money to buy a rusty old Škoda 1100 MB.”

Grand Prix Bugattis, here blitzing the Klausen hillclimb, have a special place in the heart of Czech motoring artist Jiří Rameš

“My interest really grew as a result and I became enthralled with Grand Prix racing,” he continues.

“But, due to the political situation in the former Czechoslovakia at the time, Formula One magazines and good reference photographs were really hard to come by.”

Jiří’s first heroes as a teenager were British Lotus aces Jim Clark and Graham Hill.

Hans-Peter Joisten in the Jägermeister BMW 3.0 CSL (left) at the 1973 Spa 24-hour race

“I was 14 in April 1968 when I learned that Clark had been killed in an F2 race at the Hockenheimring, and it really affected me,” he recalls.

“I still have the front page of a Czech motoring magazine with a big photograph and the headline ‘Jim Clark is dead’.

“Hill always appeared to be a gentleman with a fantastic sense of humour.”

Hero Emerson Fittipaldi behind the wheel of the Lotus 72, depicted by Jiří Rameš

Another Lotus legend, Emerson Fittipaldi, later became a new favourite: “When he was paired with the gorgeous Lotus 72 in 1970, that was my dream team.

“Thanks to my work, I’ve had the lucky chance to meet Emerson several times on his visits to Prague. He’s such a super character.”

Bugattis have regularly inspired Jiří’s pieces, particularly the yellow racers driven by the Prague-born local ace Elisabeth Junek.

Czech legend Elisabeth Junek on the Targa Florio in a yellow Bugatti Type 35B

“Her performances in the Targa Florio were fantastic, particularly when in 1928 she led on the first lap from drivers including Nuvolari,” he enthuses.

“I visited her several times when she was in her 80s.

“She was an amazing woman, and I was honoured to paint two pictures to mark her pioneering career.”

A pitstop for Nelson Piquet’s Brabham BT54

As well as circuit racing, Jiří has also been inspired by rallying, particularly the exploits of the Škoda factory team from the ’70s and ’80s: “The classic 130 Rally Sports were great, particularly on the Rallye Monte-Carlo where they won their class in 1977.

“My first published drawing was of a Škoda 130 RS in Svět motorů [Motor World] in 1973.”

Other Czech subjects include a stamp design featuring a pre-war Wikov 7/28 sports car.

For reference, Jiří is lucky to live close to the superb National Technical Museum, which includes the most original Mercedes-Benz W154 racer.

A self-taught artist, Jiří prefers fast-drying acrylic paints as his main medium.

In addition to the cars themselves, he greatly enjoys producing portraits to match his racing subjects. Figure work doesn’t daunt him, as his fine cycling compositions confirm.

Jiří also loves watching truck racing, which features extensively in his superb online gallery: “It might surprise you, but my dream machine is a Kenworth W900 truck! For a sports car, I’d choose a 2015 Aston Martin Vantage.”

For more, see jirirames.cz

Elisabeth Junek: the pioneering Miss Bugatti

Motoring art: Carlo Demand