The Rochdale Olympics

The sculpture grew from re-discovering an innovative 1960's sportscar, working with local people who originally produced it and enthusiasts who restore and run them today. The world's first single moulded fibre-glass monocoque car, the Rochdale Olympic was developed by Richard Parker, a brilliant engineer who later invented the original Jet-ski. The sculpture consists of 11 life-size profile sections, sweeping down the street in a dynamic action sequence of the car in motion. Drawn in welded steel bar on the surface of each profile are a variety of images which, together with etched stainless steel plaques on each wheel, tell the story that has so invigorated the local community. The Daily Telegraph described the work as "a hugely impressive, attractive, informative, tactile and ingenious tribute to a brilliant but largely forgotten blip in motoring history". Thanks to the national publicity generated by the project and permanent depiction in this captivating sculpture, the story is no longer consigned to the archives, but will continue to inspire local people and visitors alike for years to come.