Munich. For half a century, BMW Art Cars have provided a creative platform for renowned artists from across the globe to express their vision on an automobile. The BMW Art Cars by American artists Andy Warhol and Julie Mehretu will be exhibited at this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The display at the concours marks the beginning of the North America leg of the BMW Art Car World Tour which celebrates the iconic collection in its jubilee year around the globe from Vienna to Hong Kong and Shanghai, from Dubai to Marrakech and Milan. The two BMW Art Cars will travel on to The Bridge and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C. respectively.
Andy Warhol's BMW M1 Group 4 (#4, 1979)
Andy Warhol (1928–1987) is considered one of the most influential artists of the modern age and a major proponent of Pop Art. In just 28 minutes, Warhol covered the car – then the latest masterpiece by design legend Giorgio Giugiaro – in colours and textures that clearly reveal his artistic gestures, even today. Hervé Poulain, the founder of the BMW Art Car Collection, witnessed Warhol painting the car and compared it to a live dance performance. Andy Warhol’s Art Car was raced for the first and only time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979.
Julie Mehretu's BMW M Hybrid V8 (#20, 2024)
Mixed media, print, painting: Julie Mehretu’s works comment on social and political upheavals. Born in 1970 in Addis Ababa and now living in New York, Mehretu is one of the most successful artistic voices of her generation. She first presented her artistically designed BMW M Hybrid V8 to the public at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in May 2024. After its race deployment in Le Mans a month later, this year marks the next chapter of the project in cooperation with the BMW Group: the African Film and Media Arts Collective (AFMAC). With BMW Art Car #20 now returning to the artist's homeland for the first time, the presentation at Pebble Beach marks its North American premiere.
At the 74th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (17 August 2025), the signature event of Monterey Car Week, art buffs and motorsport fans alike will be treated to a rare display of these two spectacular examples from BMW’s storied collection.
This year’s event serves as the perfect venue to celebrate two American-made masterpieces, as 2025 marks the 50th anniversaries of the BMW Art Car collection and BMW officially doing business in the USA. The two ‘rolling sculptures’ will then continue their journey separately to The Bridge in Bridgehampton, New York, and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C.
In 2016, Bob Rubin, Shamin Abas, and Jeffrey Einhorn founded The Bridge, one of the nation’s most exclusive annual automotive events, held by invitation only on the historic grounds of the original Bridgehampton Race Circuit. The event celebrates the site’s rich racing heritage, showcasing over 200 post-war sports and competition cars. This year, visitors can look forward to a special highlight on 13 September 2025: Julie Mehretu's BMW Art Car #20 will be on display alongside the McLaren Artura GT4 designed by American artist Mickalene Thomas. Inspired by the idea behind the BMW Art Car Collection, the Driven Artists Racing Team (DART Car) commissioned award-winning multidisciplinary artist Mickalene Thomas to design a custom wrap for their very first race car, the McLaren Artura GT4. The car made its official debut on February 18th at the Classic Car Club Manhattan in New York. The DART initiative was founded by entrepreneur Zoë Barry, art advisor Spring McManus, and professional racecar driver Aurora Straus. It aims to showcase the achievements of women in the traditionally male-dominated fields of art and motorsport.
As part of the presentation of BMW Art Car #20 by Julie Mehretu and Mickalene Thomas' custom-designed McLaren, an Art Talk with both artists, entrepreneur Zoë Barry and Thomas Girst, Global Head of BMW Group Cultural Engagement, will take place on 13 September at 4pm. The conversation, moderated by art advisor Spring McManus, explores the innovative fusion of contemporary art and motorsports.
Shortly afterwards, Andy Warhol's iconic BMW Art Car will be presented in Washington, D.C. The stop in the US capital will be kicked off with an exclusive opening ceremony at the Hirshhorn Museum, located prominently on the National Mall.
The BMW Art Car Collection.
The BMW Art Car initiative came from French racing driver and art dealer Hervé Poulain, who, together with then BMW Head of Motorsport Jochen Neerpasch, asked his artist friend Alexander Calder to paint a car. The result was a completely reimagined BMW 3.0 CSL, which went on to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1975 and became a crowd favorite. In the years that followed, art icons like Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Esther Mahlangu, David Hockney, Jenny Holzer, Jeff Koons, and Julie Mehretu have enriched the collection, each in their own individual style.
The BMW vehicles that have been turned into works of art using a wide variety of graphic and artistic techniques are as different as the artists themselves – from pure racing thoroughbreds to production vehicles and rare sports cars. The results are all vastly different. No two vehicles are alike. BMW Art Car artists are selected by an independent worldwide jury of museum directors and curators, and the artist always maintains complete creative freedom throughout the entire process.
The BMW Group's Cultural Engagement, with exclusive updates and deeper insights into its global initiatives can be followed on Instagram at @BMWGroupCulture.
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