[EXPO] The BMW Art Car World Tour makes a stop at Rétromobile 2026
Some artistic movements transcend generations… and the BMW Art Cars phenomenon is clearly one of them.
To mark its 50th anniversary, and as part of the BMW Art Car World Tour, Rétromobile will host an expo in 2026 devoted to this one-of-a-kind artistic movement. Taking place in pavilion 7.2, this display will be the unique chance to get a glimpse of the seven BMW ART CARS that have taken part in the legendary 24 hours of Le Mans race. From Alexander Calder’s BMW 3. CSL to Julie Mehretu’s BMW M Hybrid V8 and including the Andy Warhol BMW M1 and the Jeff Koons BMW M3 GT2, all these 4-wheeled works of art will be on display at the 50th anniversary of Rétromobile.
BMW Art Cars: the birth of an artistic movement in its own right
The idea of connecting the worlds of 24 Hours of Le Mans and art goes back exactly 50 years.
In 1975, Hervé Poulain, an auctioneer and ‘gentleman driver’ in his spare time, yearned to take compete in the blue riband race in motorsport. He hatched the idea of having the body of a racing car painted by a world-renowned artist. It merely remained to find a suitably persuadable manufacturer to sign up to this quite original plan. Renault was approached but declined. Poulain discussed his struggles with Jean Todt. At the time a respected co-driver, the former FIA president quickly perceived the benefits of the project, and introduced Poulain to Jochen Neerspach, the director of BMW Motorsport. With the additional buy-in of the German firm’s head of communications Dr Avenarius, the auctioneer’s proposal was approved by BMW management in February 1975.
Calder and BMW: a meeting under the banner of art
Coming precisely at the moment when BMW was preparing a change in scale with the launch of the 3 series, this project helped showcase the manufacturer’s dedication to motorsport. The choice of painter and sculptor Alexander Calder was also an asset in this regard, as the American had an excellent reputation with the Munich carmaker. Thus began the Art Cars saga. “The factory supplied the maintenance, logistics and car, and guaranteed it would not be sold off after the race,” says Hervé Poulain. “It was up to me to choose the artist, and I entered the race in my own name and under my own responsibility.”
Before even showing up at the Sarthe circuit, the project’s instigators pulled off quite a coup. Wherever it went, the 3.0 CSL coupé, stripped of all advertising, was an instant hit. Decorated with bold blocks of the three primary colours of red, yellow and blue, the BMW clearly stood apart from the other racing cars. Hervé Poulain the rookie was aided and abetted by two leading names: Sam Posey, one of BMW's official drivers in the American IMSA championship, and Jean Guichet, winner of the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car’s race participation unfortunately did not last long, but the global buzz generated by the venture encouraged BMW to repeat the experience.
BMW Art Cars: from artistic experiment to global phenomenon
BMW Art Cars: Franck Stella & Roy Lichtenstein pick up the baton
For the 1976 race, Frank Stella was chosen to put his name to a 750-horsepower 3.0 CSL biturbo coupe, intellectualizing the engineering discipline by wrapping the bodyshell in graph paper. This temperamental model was forced to retire in the early stages of the race.
A change of scenery came the following year, BMW ringing the changes with its Silhouette 3 Series. Like his predecessors, American artist Roy Lichtenstein enjoyed complete freedom of expression. At the preview on 6 June 1977 at Beaubourg, a select few discovered the lyricism of the inventor of the figurative movement: lemon yellow lines, dark blue dots and green bubbles adorned the bodywork. In their own way, these symbols of sunrise and sunset evoked the 24-hour cycle. And fate finally smiled on them. The BMW 320 crossed the finish line in ninth place, taking the class victory in the process.
BMW Art Cars: Warhol adorns the M1
Then in 1978; it was the turn of Andy Warhol, renowned for his silkscreen prints of Campbell's soup cans and portraits of celebrities, to put his signature to the 320. Hervé Poulain received a model covered from bonnet to tailpipe in pink floral wallpaper, including the windows and windscreen! BMW were slightly disconcerted by the design but accepted the project, only to change their mind a month before Le Mans, as the car was not ready.
But Warhol was given a second chance. The New Yorker was inspired by the design of the M1, the new sports coupé that the German firm had decided to launch. He came up with two very different ideas. The first was impertinent: the sports car was entirely covered in khaki camouflage, which was quickly rejected by Dr Avenarius. The other model was accepted, but the paint splashes and drips without contours were technically impossible to reproduce… unless Warhol himself were to come to Munich to paint his design on the car body. The artist agreed and took over the studio. For several days, he painted the M1 freehand with brushes. The result was sensational, with its dripping pools of colour announcing the advent of Bad Painting. The M1 finished sixth in a rain-soaked race.
During the winter of 1979-1980, Jasper Johns pulled out of painting the M1 for lack of inspiration. Niki de Saint Phalle was also approached but declined. Another figure of pop art, the American James Rosenquist, was sent models. He submitted his designs just as BMW pulled out of Le Mans because they did not have an available car. While Hervé Poulain would never race a BMW again at Le Mans, the manufacturer nonetheless continued its dynasty of Art Cars.
Jenny Holzer signs the BMW Art Car return to Le Mans
BMW Art Cars in the modern day
Jeff Koons: speed to symbolise the Art Car
