BMW Motorsport has revealed in Paris the latest BMW “Art Car” that will race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Car is painted by the famous artist Jeff Koons, who signed his colorful rolling artwork before a crowd of 300 at the Centre Pompidou art institution.The 17th Art Car, a BMW M3 GT2, will run in Le Mans following a BMW tradition in which such famed artists as Warhol, Lichtenstein, Stella, Rauschenberg, Hockney and Holzer have painted the race cars which their signature designs.
The first entry in the Art Car series, a BMW 3.0 CSL painted by Alexander Calder for the 1975 Le Mans race, was displayed last month at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, N.C., to coincide with the opening of the nearby NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Calder painted the car at the request of French racer Hervé Poulain, who drove the BMW in the race. That started the 35-year Art Car tradition.
Koons has been working for several months with BMW’s racing team in Munich to complete the car.
"There is a lot of power under that hood and I want to let my ideas transcend with the car – it’s really to connect with that power"
The BMW M3 GT2 is derived from the BMW M3 high-performance street car and boasts a 4-liter V8 engine with a maximum output of 500 horsepower, an upgraded chassis, racing-caliber brakes and extensive use of lightweight materials.
Able to reach 100 mph in 3.4 seconds, the BMW M3 GT2 is rapidly emerging as a first-year contender at this year’s event.
