BMW V12 LMR

The American concept artist, Jenny Holzer, has covered the 15th Art Car, a BMW V12 LMR, with surprising messages - messages which she says "will probably never lose their relevance".
The expression of her concept is based on traditional features, colours and graphics of the racing car design. Chrome letters made of reflecting metal foil, outlined with phosphorescent colour, give the text an almost magic light effect. What is crucial for the perception of her word art is the context in which it is presented. "Protect me from what I want" - seen against the backdrop of the most spectacular car race in the world, with its battle for places and prestige, the word artist's plea for survival gains a whole new meaning. "You are so complex you don't respond to danger" - a provocation that could not have been put better when referring to the world of motor racing. Jenny Holzer's V12 LMR takes the BMW Art Car idea back to its roots: Le Mans.

BMW 850 Csi

"BMW gave me the model of the car and I kept looking at it and looking at it", says David Hockney on the creation process of his BMW Art Car.
"And then, I must admit, I also looked at the other Art Cars. In the end I thought, probably it would be good to perhaps show the car so you could be looking inside it. "To turn his idea into reality, Hockney took several months and allowed the inside of the BMW 850 CSi to be outwardly visible. Stylized intake manifolds of the engine appear on the hood, and the silhouette of the driver can be seen on the door. And you don't just see the inside of the car, but also excerpts of an abstract landscape. Because "traveling around in a car means experiencing landscapes", says Hockney, "which is one of the reasons why I chose green as a color."

BMW Series 3 Racer

"Paint me, paint me!" these are the words the surface of the BMW called to him, said Sandro Chia on his first meeting with the prototype of a 3 Series racing touring car.
So he painted faces and a sea of vivid colors until the bodywork of the car was completely covered." The automobile is a sought-after possession in society", reflected Chia when he had finished his work. "All eyes are upon it. People look closely at cars. This car reflects their gaze." The design of the 13th BMW Art Car was not Chia's first artistic adventure with an automobile: as a child, he drew graffiti on cars.

BMW Z1

For A.R. Penck, the BMW Z1 was already a "work of art", in which the creativity and fantasy of the engineer and designer were reflected.
An automobile then which simultaneously lives up to the name Art Car in several senses. And it was from the technical design of the Z1 that Penck drew his inspiration for his work. The artist set the modern appearance of the car in contrast with the sign language, which in its simplicity recalls prehistoric cave paintings. However, it is at the same time a challenge to the observer, as the apparently straightforward symbols, evolved by a long process of abstraction, are in fact ciphers to be decoded.