(800) 467-9769

Login My account icon  

Please, add your first item to the wishlist

My account icon  

Please, add your first item to the wishlist

Taking ‘Art Car’ to the next level – BMW’s Art Cars 1975 to present.

Andy Warhol finishing his M1

Cars are art.  Cars are not art.  It really depends on who you talk to.  Most people that run with our crowd are the type to observe the body lines of a Jaguar E-Type, Ferrari 250GT and declare them as sculpture more fit for a gallery than a museum.  When you move from the category of ‘most beautiful cars on earth’ to ‘pretty nice’ looking cars, sometimes (mixed with the ego of a racing driver) that just isn’t enough.  You know, presentation is everything after all.

It started in the mid 70’s when French owner/driver/art enthusiast Hervé Poulain commissioned his pal Alexander Calder to do the livery on the BMW 3.0 CSL.  Calder, who had recently done livery work on a pair of jumbo jets, was most famous for his kinetic sculpture that utilized blocks of vivid color.  The result was this, the first BMW art car, to race in the 1975 24 Hours of LeMans.

Calder’s 1975 art car at LeMans, as driven by Herve Poulain

The art cars have changed a bit over the years, with the focus moving from racing liveries (although still the mainstay) to one off road cars for show, and art demonstrations involving BMW cars.  Even though some of these cars are considered ‘unofficial’ because they aren’t sanctioned from BMW, every one has a distinct flavor as punctuated by the style of the artist.

Here are some of the BMW Art Cars over the years.

Frank Stella – 1976
Roy Lichtenstein – 1977

 

Andy Warhol – 1979

 

Ernst Fuchs – 1982
Robert Rauschenberg – 1986

 

Michael Nelson Jagamarra – 1989

 

Ken Done – 1989

 

Matazo Kayama – 1990

 

Cesar Manrique – 1990

 

A. R. Penck – 1991

 

Esther Mahlangu – 1991

 

Sandro Chia – 1992

 

David Hockney – 1995

 

Jenny Holzer – 1999

 

Olafur Eliasson – 2007 (Yes, there is a car in there)

 

Robin Rhode – 2009

 

Jeff Koons – 2010

I’m sure for many of you, these cars are not news.  I mean, BMW’s been doing them since the 70’s.  I suppose this is just a reason to look at some of them again, and who doesn’t love that?

BLOG HOME
LEAVE A REPLY

One thought on “Taking ‘Art Car’ to the next level – BMW’s Art Cars 1975 to present.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

SEARCH OUR BLOG

BLOG CATEGORIES

Working on cars is dangerous, always be careful and be aware of the hazards of working on any vehicle. eEuroparts.com (Newparts Inc) is not responsible for any injury, up to and including death, as a result of working on any vehicle suggested or implied on this website.