BMW Art Car Collection Celebrates 50 Years with a Global Tour

Discover the 50-year legacy of the BMW Art Car Collection as it embarks on a global tour, showcasing iconic artist-designed vehicles across major museums and exhibitions worldwide.

Fifty years ago, a groundbreaking experiment turned BMW race cars into moving works of art. In 1975, American sculptor Alexander Calder transformed a BMW 3.0 CSL into a kinetic masterpiece, marking the birth of the BMW Art Car Collection. Now, in celebration of its 50th anniversary, this extraordinary project embarks on a global tour, showcasing 20 iconic vehicles across five continents, premier museums, art fairs, and auto shows.

The collection, featuring cars designed by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, Jeff Koons, and Julie Mehretu, represents a vivid cross-section of modern art movements—pop art, abstraction, minimalism, conceptualism, and digital innovations. These "rolling sculptures" symbolize not just artistic freedom but also technological progress and boundary-pushing creativity.

The BMW Art Car World Tour kicks off in Europe and Asia. On March 20-21, the SPARK Art Fair and the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna will showcase works by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Rauschenberg, and Hockney. Later, from March 28-30, Julie Mehretu’s BMW M Hybrid V8 will be unveiled at Art Basel in Hong Kong, expanding the concept beyond the physical car. Mehretu’s project includes a media and film workshop series for young African artists, culminating in an exhibition at Zeitz MOCAA (South Africa) in 2026.

Key stops include Munich, Stockholm, Shanghai, Istanbul, Lake Como, and The Hague, with additional exhibitions expected in the U.S., Morocco, Latin America, and Australia as the tour progresses.

The anniversary celebrations extend beyond exhibitions. BMW will release miniature Art Car models, a new edition of the Art Cars catalog, and a Puma fashion collection inspired by the legendary vehicles.

Yet, the true essence of the BMW Art Car Collection lies in its dynamic and ever-evolving nature. These cars transcend traditional boundaries, blending art, history, technology, and motorsport into a singular artistic expression. "I love that car. It turned out better than the artwork," Andy Warhol once said of his BMW M1 (1979).

The global tour is not just a tribute to the past—it’s an inspiration for the future of art, design, and innovation.

Source: press.bmwgroup.com