Over the past 40 years, BMW has collaborated with world famous artists to create 17 art cars and each is a historic work of art. The cars are highly valuable but many of them have been raced, from Alexander Calder’s 3.0 CSL through to the latest M3 GT2 painted by Jeff Koons.
While some of the cars have gone on display in museums and exhibitions around the world, seeing all 17 in the same place is very rare. To mark the 40th anniversary of the art car program BMW has put the entire collection online through a new website. On the site each car gets its own exhibit and film that outlines its creation, all laid out in a high-tech virtual museum. Read the rest of this entry »
Like its close relation BMW, Mini likes to dabble a little with art cars. Often they team up with top fashion designers to produce a one-off model which are then auctioned off for the benefit of HIV/AIDS research and awareness. That said, the latest special Mini is something different entirely.
For this unique model, Mini got in touch with British musician Paul Weller. Often known as “The Modfather,” Weller was a member of successful bands The Jam and The Style Council before embarking on a solo career. This is the first time Weller has lent his hand to automotive art.
Weller’s inspiration for the design – which features bold pink and brown stripes across the car’s entire body and is finished with a single silver line running up the bonnet and over the roof – comes from the colours in a Ben Sherman shirt he designed for the clothing brand some years ago.
Mini UK’s Director, Jochen Goller says “Both Mini and Paul Weller are synonymous with the quintessential British mod scene. That’s why we were the ideal match to create this unique car.”
Paul Weller said “I’ve always loved and driven Minis so when I was given the opportunity to design a bespoke Mini Cooper I wanted to create something that reflected the mood and colours associated with the Mod era, which was also the classic Mini’s hey day. I’d already expressed these colours in a shirt I designed for Ben Sherman a few years ago, so it made sense to me to continue the theme using a Mini Cooper as a palate.
The special pink-striped Mini he designed is being auctioned online to benefit the War Child and Nordoff Robins charities.
It’s over a decade now since the McLaren F1 tore up the Supercar rule book and it remains one of the fastest supercars ever built, and a highly coveted and expensive collectors’ item. The race-spec McLaren F1 GTR fetches even bigger dollars. But a McLaren F1 GTR art car? Now, that’s going to be worth crazy money.
Most of us have been exposed to BMW’s art car project at some point. It started in the 1970s, with the Bavarian automaker commissioning famous artists to use their cars as canvas and transform them into petrol-burning works of art. Most of them were raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including the latest iteration the M3 GT2 painted by Jeff Koons which BMW campaigned at this year’s race.
At this point you may be saying “but hang on that’s not a BMW!” That’s true and while this may not have been part of BMW’s official art car program, the McLaren F1 is BMW-engined. This particular F1 is Chassis #5 and was acquired by French gentleman racer Jean-Luc Maury—Laribiere, who entered it at Le Mans in 1994. The next year, renowned French artist Cesar gave the car a very unique paint job.
Now the one-of-a-kind McLaren is heading to the auction block where it is expected to fetch between two and two-and-a-half million euros (about $4.3 million kiwi dollars) on July 9 during the Le Mans Classic.
BMW has breathed new life into its old tradition of mixing motor racing and art with Jeff Koons’ new creation of the 17th Art Car.
Previewed in a teaser image before its official unveiling at the Centre Pompidou in Paris the latest art car is set to make its race debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. According to those ‘in the know’ the car has taken a simple, two-dimensional theme and delivered what Koons hopes is “powerful.”
Power is no doubt important for the 17th Art Car, as it’s set to be a race car. Andy Priaulx, Dirk Mueller, and Dirk Werner will drive the #79 art-liveried car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 35 years after the first Art Car, painted by Alexander Calder, took to the same track back in 1975. The car’s racing number is a tribute to Andy Warhol’s 1979 Art Car, that itself wore the number 76 to commemorate the 1976 Frank Stella car that also raced at Le Mans.
“It is fitting that Jeff Koons’ car will follow in the storied tradition of the renowned artists who created the early race-inspired BMW Art Cars,” said BMW North America president Jim O’Donnell. “We look forward to BMW’s return to Le Mans — and perhaps even sharing a toast with Jeff at the finish line.”
The 17th Art Car will make its debut on June 1 at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The 24 Hours of Le Mans runs June 12-13.
Internationally acclaimed artist Jeff Koons has been announced as the next in a long line of artists who will create a BMW Art Car. Since 1975, artists from around the world have turned BMW cars into art, signifying a particular period. Koons will create the 17th BMW Art Car in what’s the 35th anniversary year of the program. The last art car installment was revealed by artist Olafur Eliasson back in 2007.
Koon’s relationship with BMW started more than two decades ago when he first drove a BMW during time spent living in Munich. However, it was in 2003 that Koons first expressed a desire to create a BMW Art Car.
Speaking from New York, Jeff Koons said “I always thought it would be an honor to work on a BMW Art Car, I look forward to participating in a tradition set forth by such great artists as Calder, Lichtenstein, Stella, and Warhol.”
As for the BMW Art Car Koons will work on, details of the model and design idea will be announced in the near future.
If you thought the Mini 50th Anniversary celebrations were over, you thought wrong. Mini is borrowing ideas from parent company BMW and has released a “Wash Me” art car video showing off the latest batch of art cars from the Mini lineup. BMW has long been known for its art cars, and the latest push, complete with a book based around these art cars, is to start Mini off with that same sort of history.
It’s a familiar story, by using the Mini as a canvas, 10 different artists present 10 different takes on what an art car should be and how radically they can customise the vehicle.
Playing on the theme of casual art drawn into dirty cars, the “Wash Me” video shows how a single car can express many different themes, depending on the personality of the artist.
Check out the video below and images in the gallery.
automotive art.
