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.

Munich. “I love this car. It’s more successful than the artwork,” was the opinion of Andy Warhol after his sweeping brush strokes had transformed the BMW M1. It took him less than half an hour to create the fourth exhibit in the BMW Art Car Collection. 40 years later, enthusiasm for the mid-engined sports car remains unabated. Already world-famous at that time, the US icon of Pop Art shared the same passion with many automobile fans of that bygone era. And the fascination of the unique special created by Warhol has indeed increased. Many fans regard his Art Car as the highlight of the entire collection. It’s therefore hardly surprising that Munich-based automobile photographer Stephan Bauer spontaneously opted for the BMW M1 finished in the Warhol design when he was selecting his dream subject on four wheels. Last year, Bauer (29) emerged as the victor in the Social Media Contest “Shootout 2018” organised by BMW Group Classic and he was given the opportunity for an exclusive photo shoot with BMW Art Car Number Four. A series of photos was created to mark the 40th birthday of the BMW M1 designed by Andy Warhol. They provide a completely new perspective on one of the most legendary vehicles from the history of BMW.

Five photographic artists entered their best shots from the world of BMW classic cars in the “Shootout 2018” competition held on the Instagram social media platform. BMW Group Classic joined forces with BMW Culture, BMW Motorsport, BMW M GmbH and BMW subsidiary companies in several international markets for the joint project. It focused the attention of young target groups on the numerous motor-sport successes and record chases with vehicles and engines from BMW over the past 100 years. The prize for the winner was an enthralling photo shoot with a vehicle of their choice from the comprehensive collection of BMW Group Classic. The choice of the winner fell on the BMW M1 in the powerful 470 hp racing version produced in conformity with Group 4 regulations. 40 years ago, this automobile both celebrated its sporting debut in the Procar Series and entered the annals of Pop Art history.

Against the backdrop of an old factory building in Cologne, Stephan Butler choreographed a spectacular contrast between the brightly coloured Art Car and the dour grey of the abandoned industrial structure. At a subsequent outdoor session, laser search lights shrouded the BMW M1 in a positively mystical atmosphere. In both settings, the Art Car kept emerging from a completely new perspective – and always to perfection. The results of the photo shoot are posted on the Facebook page of BMW Group Classic and on the Instagram Account of BMW Group Classic.

Andy Warhol’s Art Car proved to be a dream subject for the recent photo shoot in Cologne. The artist himself made things much more difficult for the photographers. 40 years ago, the cameras had hardly been set up when Warhol had already finished painting the bodywork in all the colours of the rainbow. As the artist explained later, his speed was a reflection of the statement made by his work of art: “I attempted to show speed as a visual image. When an automobile is really travelling fast, all the lines and colours are transformed into a blur.”

Very soon after the last brush stroke had been applied, the BMW M1 styled by Warhol demonstrated just how fast an artwork can be. In June 1979, the BMW M1 emblazoned with start number 76 competed in the 24 Hour Race of Le Mans. German driver Manfred Winkelhock, and Frenchmen Hervé Poulain and Marcel Mignot drove the Art Car to second place in its class and achieved a ranking of six in the overall standings.