Achilles was the greatest champion of the Greek cause, and the Iliad has as its main theme ‘the wrath of Achilles’. In chapter XIX 392-8 of the Iliad, Achilles goes out to avenge Patroclos: ‘Automedon and Alkimos were busy yoking the horses, putting fine collars round them and bits and bits in their jaws and taking the reins back to the chariot. Automedon grasped the flaming whip attached to the chariot and jumped on the platform, behind him mounted Achilles, his helmet and armour shining with the brilliance of the sun.’

Caro chose for the body of the chariot a pizza oven that he found in a hardware store in the south of France when working with Hans Spinner. The chariot’s stoneware wheels sit on steel runners, providing a sharp contrast between soft and hard form.