On the list of iconic BMW art cars, the Warhol one is right near the top. Combining a larger-than-life creator — the Velvet Underground’s very own Andy Warhol — arguably at the height of his career and one of the most exclusive and high-profile BMWs ever released at the time is, after all, the perfect recipe for that sort of thing. Fitting, then that the storied BMW M1 will be added to the National Historic Vehicle Register. The car will be displayed in glass on the National Mall between September 17 and September 23, 2025. It will be the 37th automobile added and is the first BMW included in the Register.
The BMW M1 Art Car
Warhol painted the BMW M1 Art Car, the fourth vehicle in the Art Car program, in just 28 minutes. He applied polymer-based paint directly to the car’s sheet metal and claimed he “attempted to show speed as a visual image.” That’s a departure from his predecessors, who instead painted on scale models first. The car later raced at Le Mans, where it was piloted by Manfred Winkelhock, Hervé Poulain, and Marcel Mignot. It finished second in class and sixth overall. Notably, like his predecessors, Warhol did not collect payment for his work on the fourth Art Car ever. He used 13 pounds (six kilograms) of paint in total to cover the car-as-a-canvas.
The National Historic Vehicle Register
A cooperative effort between insurance provider (and, more recently, car content creators) Hagerty and the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Historic Vehicle Register seeks to celebrate historically important vehicles. “Vehicles listed here demonstrate the vast impact cars have had on all aspects of American history,” claims the Hagerty Drivers Foundation on the Register’s website.
The Register has inducted a wide range of vehicles; you can find obvious picks like the 1964 Shelby Daytona Cobra alongside deeper cuts like the 1940 GM Futurliner. Somewhere in between are the usual suspects, like the Mercedes Gullwing and Willy CJ-6. Board President of the Hagerty Drivers Foundation McKeel Hagerty weighs in on the M1 Art Car. “Many view the automobile as a form of art in motion, and the Warhol BMW M1 is arguably the most iconic example in the Art Car series.”
As we previously reported, the Warhol M1 art car will join the Julie Mehretu Art Car to headline Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2025. Afterwards, it’s off to Washington DC for its week in the spotlight. The M1 Art Car is a worth addition to the National Historic Vehicle Register. We can’t think of a more deserving BMW. Especially considering it marks a first for the brand.
