The Otter Art Car – Burning Man 2025, Black Rock City, Nevada

The Otter Art Car is a kinetic sculpture and mutant vehicle of monumental cuteness, built for Burning Man 2025. Engineered Artworks designed and fabricated it: a giant, huggable sea otter that carries 10-12 riders on its cushioned belly as it cruises across the playa.

A private client commissioned the piece. Renowned puppeteer and EA team member Haley Who guided the character through several rounds of conceptual design, working closely with the client and the studio’s engineering team. The result is Engineered Artworks’ first fuzzy art car: soft, plush and made to be hugged.

Beneath the fur is a Kubota RTV side-by-side. We stripped it to its core components, then modified the undercarriage and upgraded the suspension and tires. A steel substructure supports a body shaped from CNC-cut foam and skinned in faux fur. Overhead, a flowing seaweed canopy gives aqueous shade during the day. At night, integrated LEDs fill the otter with moving, water-like light. An auxiliary lithium-ion power system runs the ground lights, floodlights, custom sound system and slide-out electric cooler. And of course, the otter never lets go of its favorite pet rock.

The Otter Art Car shows the range of the Engineered Artworks mutant vehicle and kinetic sculpture fabrication studio. Meaningful collaboration with the client, paired with our creative and technical craft, produced an otherworldly mobile sculpture.

Lead Artist: Sean Orlando
Executive Producer: Jay Kravitz
Project Manager: Christian Cummins
Character Development: Haley Who
Design Engineer: Grant Diffendaffer
Lighting Design: John Parts Taylor
Fabricated by: Engineered Artworks (Jason Grondlund, Thom Puhek, Jessi Eberlin)

Specs:
12′ H x 8′ W x 20′ L
Kubota RTV base, steel substructure, CNC-cut foam, faux fur, textile canopy, LED lighting, sound system, lithium-ion power