Jeff Koons has collaborated with BMW to create the 17th edition of their Art Car. This time using the M3 GT2 as its silhouette, the car was unveiled in the Centre Pompidou yesterday. This was the same venue where Roy Lichtenstein first presented and signed his Art Car back in 1977. The car will participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France on June 12th and 13th.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance, the race has been held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe, France.
As part of his creative process, Jeff Koons collected images of race cars, related graphics, vibrant colors, speed and explosions. Then by working with an actual 3-D computer-aided design (CAD) models of the BMW M3 GT2, Koons was able to simulate the application of the graphic (seen below) to the car’s surfaces and evaluate it from all angles.
The Koons car number, “79”, pays tribute to the 1979 Andy Warhol car. The Warhol car was assigned the number “76,” an homage to the 1976 Frank Stella car, both of which raced at Le Mans. The home of all BMW Art Cars is the BMW Museum in Munich. Starting in September, Koons’ 17th BMW Art Car will be presented there together with some of its predecessors.
Under Koons’ direct guidance and supervision, his BMW Art Car was produced in association with a team of BMW engineers and designers at Schmid Design, near Munich. The challenge to create the BMW Art Car had to do with using a light material and a design that would not interfere with the race car’s aerodynamics and weight.
Since there was only a two month window between the first design sketches and the Paris world premiere, timing was also an issue. This is why digital print on car wrapping vinyl was used, covered by a double clear-coating to bring out the color. The end result looks amazing. I'd love to be able to see it in person. Very Cool.
Bonus: Andy Warhol's 1979 BMW M1 Art Car
Source: BMW Blog
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