Pabrico was commissioned to design protective packaging for a Formula One (F1) race car, one of the vehicles driven by world champion Damon Hill during the 1994 season. Two cars were delivered to us: the first was a full mock‑up, supplied solely for the purpose of creating and testing the packaging design so that the highly polished finish of the original would remain untouched.
The second delivery was the actual car shell, which had been sold to a collector in the Far East. The collector commissioned a specialist company to transform the vehicle into a dramatic wall‑mounted display. To achieve this, most mechanical parts were removed, leaving the body to be laser‑cut in half and fixed to a backboard, creating the ultimate showpiece.
Our responsibility was to engineer a high‑density protective pack that would safeguard the shell while holding every component securely in place. With many parts being bespoke and irreplaceable, meticulous care was essential. We designed the pack so that no material would touch the polished paintwork, any mark would have required repair or repainting at the collector’s request.
The core of the pack was built from standard flat sheets of polystyrene, with additional sections cut to shape and bonded precisely into position. Once the car was fully encased, the pack was mounted onto a large wooden base, reinforced with batons across the top to lock everything firmly in place.
The finished package was shipped overseas and arrived in flawless condition, preserving a piece of motorsport history and enabling its transformation into art.
