Motoring art: John A Frye

Referencing early record-breakers and fighter aircraft, he conjures such spectacular machines as the Superflivver, Torpedette and Brickhouse racers.

Frye’s classic car artwork, inspired by Tamiya model kit boxes

Ink sketches are transformed into vivid colour studies using Photoshop, after which John enjoys dreaming up fun histories for his creations.

His nostalgia for the evocative box artwork of the plastic model kits that he built as a boy have inspired another fantastic series of works entitled the Spruemeister collection.

Fusing Le Mans prototypes with WW2 fighters or ’50s Americana, John has created a bizarre range of racers, from the Aga Ikebukuro J9E to the Walchester ‘Brambleshark’. 

This Lamborghini Countach LP400 study is one of John A Frye’s more realist works

Inspirational Formula One and Can-Am cars are also reimagined as wild fantasy machines.

The Derek Gardner-designed Tyrrell P34 six-wheeler was the trigger for the Team Tyrolia Project Ouvert, one of the first challengers for John’s ‘retro-autonomous racing series’.

Other dream machines in this group include the McLandish MB23, Lotron 49B and Nakama Kuroyama, all presented as model kit boxes with bold graphics in the classic Tamiya style. 

Growing up in Bend, Oregon, John enjoyed drawing, and his draughtsman father encouraged this early talent.

The ‘Spruemeister’ creations include the improbable Juncker Le Mans car

Movies fuelled the youngster’s vivid imagination, and cinematic conceptual artists Ralph McQuarrie and Syd Mead were early heroes.

After graduating in industrial design from the ArtCenter College of Design, where tutors included car stylist Strother MacMinn, John worked for Boeing, Hasbro and John Deere before joining Honda.

His passion for sketching filled his spare time, and Hot Wheels design chief Dwayne Vance included some of John’s illustrations when he published his hot-rod art book, Masters of Chicken Scratch. 

In 2024 came John’s own title, Fryewerk 2.0, featuring a technique guide and his concept-vehicle drawings.

An intriguing Porsche 917 and 914/6 mash-up

Complementing these fictional machines are beautiful realist artworks of classic cars, including Pininfarina’s fabulous Ferrari 512S.

“Marcello Gandini was another hero,” says John. “His Stratos HF Zero is my dream car – it’s a must-draw subject.”

See fryewerk.com or follow @fryewerk on Instagram. Fryewerk 2.0 is published by Design Studio Press

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Mick Walsh

Mick Walsh is Classic & Sports Car’s International Editor