The 3.5m x 2.5m Queen of Parts sculpture is comprised of over 800 car and truck parts, and weighs 115kg. It took more than 280 man hours to complete.
Artist David Parfitt led the project, and he was joined by Kwik Fit technicians Stuart Packham, Dan Read and Pete Hunt, who hail from Kwik Fit’s south-eastern branches.
The process saw the workers first decide upon an image in which to base the portrait on, and they set off to gather parts from a variety of different vehicles. Parfitt then determined which parts would be best suited to different elements of the portrait.
Key features include a crown made from spark plugs, indicator lenses, brake lights and a chrome trim, hair weaved from tyres, electric leads, duct pipes, wiring loom and hoses, meanwhuile the Queen's dress has been constructed from brake discs, air filters, springs, spark plugs, mirrors, pulleys and petrol caps.
The Queen of Parts is currently in situ at Taylor Herring’s studio, and will embark on a UK tour of Kwik Fit centres later in the week.
Parfitt said: "The Queen is one of the most respected and admired women in the world, so there was considerable pressure to produce a tribute that honoured her appropriately.
"By spending huge amounts of time ensuring we were meticulous, and being conscious of the fact that moving the tiniest part could make a big difference to the overall look, we think the finished portrait is a fitting acknowledgement of the contribution she made. We hope our Kwik Fit portrait gets the royal seal of approval."
Dhiren Master, marketing director at Kwik Fit added: "Not many people know that Her Majesty is our nation’s most famous mechanic – having trained and served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service in World War II.
"Our technicians thought it was about time that was rectified and wanted to play their part in paying tribute to her extraordinary contribution to her people over her long life. So what better way to celebrate her landmark 90th birthday than with their very own technical tribute."
In January, Kwik Fit teamed up with personal trainer Mikah Simpson to devise a after the festive period, coined Fit Kwik.
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