BMW ART CARS: 50 YEARS OF SPEED, CREATIVITY, AND INNOVATION
The BMW Art Cars programme celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025, marking half a century of one of the most sustained and consequential corporate art initiatives in the world. Twenty vehicles, painted by twenty artists from Alexander Calder to Julie Mehretu, form a rolling survey of contemporary art history that also happens to encompass some of the most celebrated racing cars ever built. The anniversary is marked by the first-ever complete gathering of all 20 Art Cars at BMW Welt in Munich from 29 July to 31 August 2025, followed by a global world tour.
How did the BMW Art Cars programme begin?
The programme started in 1975 when French racing driver and auctioneer Herve Poulain persuaded BMW Motorsport founder Jochen Neerpasch to commission American sculptor Alexander Calder to paint a distinctive livery on Poulain's BMW 3.0 CSL for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Calder's kinetic, primary-colour design drew an enthusiastic public response despite the car failing to finish the race. New York art dealer Leo Castelli then stepped in as a connector, channelling commissions to the major figures of the New York art world. Frank Stella completed the second Art Car in 1976. Roy Lichtenstein followed in 1977, covering a BMW 320i in his signature Ben-Day dots depicting the rising and setting sun. Andy Warhol painted a BMW M1 in 1979, famously completing the entire surface in just 28 minutes using direct brushwork rather than a stencil.
Who are the artists behind the BMW Art Cars?
The roster spans five decades of international contemporary art. David Hockney contributed in 1995 with a BMW 850 CSi, painting it to look like a technical drawing viewed from multiple angles simultaneously. Jenny Holzer used her signature text-based art for a BMW V12 LMR in 1999. Olafur Eliasson created a BMW H2R in 2007 wrapped in crystalline structures representing ice formations. Jeff Koons transformed a BMW M3 GT2 in 2010 into a composition of speed lines and coloured brushstrokes. Cao Fei brought a BMW M6 GT3 in 2017 exploring digital identity and Chinese contemporary culture. The most recent addition is the 2024 BMW M Hybrid V8, painted by Ethiopian-American artist Julie Mehretu in a composition of gestural abstraction that references cartography and migration.
The 50th anniversary world tour
To commemorate 50 years, BMW is staging the most extensive Art Cars exhibition programme in the history of the project. The 2025 world tour stops include Art Basel Hong Kong, the Shanghai Auto Show, and the Louwman Museum in The Hague with eight cars on display. From 29 July to 31 August 2025, all 20 Art Cars will be assembled together at BMW Welt in Munich for the first time ever, representing the full arc of the project from Calder's CSL to Mehretu's M Hybrid V8. Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 2025 will also feature both historical and current Art Cars.
The official BMW Group overview of the 50th anniversary is documented at BMW Group's Art Cars anniversary page, and Wallpaper published a detailed guide to all 50 years of BMW Art Cars and their 20 artists.
Photo: BMW
Automotive art at TheArsenale
The BMW Art Cars programme is the most famous example of a tradition TheArsenale has always celebrated: the car as cultural object. Explore the Car Coffee Tables and Automotive Art collection for pieces that bring the same energy into a living space. The Ferrari F430 NART Racecar painted by RETNA is a direct descendant of the Art Car tradition. Or experience motorsport livery art through the After The Race one-off race livery wall art collection, where real racing paintwork becomes sculpture.
