BMW Celebrates 40 Years of Art Cars

Lichtenstein. Warhol. Koons. Stella. Calder. Rauschenberg. Holzer. Elíasson. Since a BMW 3.0 CSL painted by Alexander Calder lined up for the Le Mans 24-hour race 40 years ago in 1975, the BMW Art Car Collection has fascinated both art and design enthusiasts as well as car and technology fans all around the world.

Since the invention of the motor car, artists have drawn inspiration from the thrill of speed, from the phenomenon of mobility and from racing cars as examples of modern sculpture. Since 1975, BMW Art Cars have been a central feature of this story. The idea behind the BMW Art Cars was the brainchild of French racing driver and art enthusiast Hervé Poulain: 40 years ago, Poulain asked artist friend Alexander Calder to apply his creative talents to his race car. Together with Jochen Neerpasch, then BMW Motorsport Director, the first BMW Art Car was born – and it became an instant crowd’s favourite on the race track. Since then, new additions to the BMW Art Car Collection have been made over the years at irregular intervals, with unique works of art from artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney and Jeff Koons.