For half a century, the BMW Art Car Collection has fused art, automotive design and motorsport into one! To mark the milestone of these rolling canvases, BMW is launching the BMW Art Car World Tour which will take these iconic works across five continents with exhibitions and special events.
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Since 1975, 20 artists have left their mark on BMW models, including Esther Mahlangu, Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Julie Mehretu. The collection reflects movements from pop art to abstraction and conceptual art. Selected by international museum juries, artists collaborate with BMW engineers to merge creativity with automotive innovation.
Andy Warhol, who hand-painted a BMW M1 Group 4 in 1979, famously said, “I love that car. It has turned out better than the artwork.” In 2024, Julie Mehretu followed in his footsteps with a BMW M Hybrid V8, describing the Art Car project as a platform for pushing creative boundaries.
The BMW Art Car World Tour starts in Europe and Asia. From the 20th of March till the 22nd, Art Cars by Lichtenstein, Warhol, Rauschenberg, Hockney, and Koons will be on display in Vienna at the Museum of Applied Arts and the SPARK Art Fair. Simultaneously, Mehretu’s M Hybrid V8 will be featured at Art Basel Hong Kong from the 28th of March till the 30th. The BMW Museum in Munich is also celebrating with a dual exhibition. Alongside the Art Cars, a showcase will honour the BMW 3 Series 50th anniversary, featuring M3 Art Cars by Sandro Chia, Michael Jagamara Nelson, and Ken Done.
Several prestigious venues will host Art Cars throughout the year. The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como in May will display Sandro Chia’s M3 GTR. In July and August, the Louwman Museum in The Hague will present eight BMW Art Cars. To commemorate the milestone, BMW is releasing a new edition of the BMW Art Cars catalogue with in-depth essays and interviews. Miniature replicas of Mehretu’s M Hybrid V8 will also be available in 1:18 and 1:43 scales.
The Complete BMW Art Car Collection:
- Alexander Calder / BMW 3.0 CSL / 1975
- Frank Stella / BMW 3.0 CSL / 1976
- Roy Lichtenstein / BMW 320 Group 5 / 1977
- Andy Warhol / BMW M1 Group 4 / 1979
- Ernst Fuchs / BMW 635 CSi / 1982
- Robert Rauschenberg / BMW 635 CSi / 1986
- Michael Jagamara Nelson / BMW M3 Group A / 1989
- Ken Done / BMW M3 Group A / 1989
- Matazo Kayama / BMW 535i / 1990
- César Manrique / BMW 730i / 1990
- A.R. Penck / BMW Z1 / 1991
- Esther Mahlangu / BMW 525i / 1991
- Sandro Chia / BMW M3 GTR / 1992
- David Hockney / BMW 850 CSi / 1995
- Jenny Holzer / BMW V12 LMR / 1999
- Olafur Eliasson / BMW H₂R / 2007
- Jeff Koons / BMW M3 GT2 / 2010
- Cao Fei / BMW M6 GT3 / 2016
- John Baldessari / BMW M6 GTLM / 2016
- Julie Mehretu / BMW M Hybrid V8 / 2024
Running through most of 2026, the BMW Art Car World Tour highlights the fusion of automotive engineering and contemporary art, cementing its place in both racing history and the art world.
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