mario trimarchi’s copper motorcycle for de castelli will oxidise completely over the next century

italian designer mario trimarchi has created a copper motorcycle to challenge perceptions of lifespan with regards to our belongings. purposefully built with the natural oxidation of copper in mind, the motorcycle will forego a complete transform as its body wanes from golden into green. within a hundred years, the motorcycle will be completely oxidised, and a new generation will be able to enjoy its transformed aesthetic.

images courtesy of de castelli/mario trimarchi

called ‘samotracia’, the project has been created for italian design brand de castelli and is a reflection on the aesthetics of motion. trimarchi moves away from the standard aerodynamic curves and has instead designed a fairing that hides its engineering insides, following the forms of the body on the bike, giving the object a sense of the thrilling physical and mental tension of riding at high speeds.

‘for some time now I’ve been committed to understanding how speed is illustrated‘, says trimarchi. ‘I have integrated this obsession with the obsession of time that passes, which for me, takes part in the themes of our relationship with objects. a motorcycle was born, seemingly driving itself independently as though on burst mode.‘