BMW’s Art Car program has long blended the worlds of fine art and motorsport, turning competition machines into rolling masterpieces. Each artist brings their own vision to the canvas of a car. The results are as much cultural statements as they are feats of engineering. Monterey Car Week plays hosts to dozens, maybe hundreds, of unique automotive exhibits. This year, BMW brought two very special Art Cars to join in the festivities.
1979 BMW M1 Group 4 Race Version
The Andy Warhol Art Car is the fourth ever Art Car and arguably the most famous. Though the Art Car program was still only in its beginning stages, Warhol managed to throw out the rule book entirely. Unlike other artists in the program, who often applied designs on scale models for assistants to later reproduce, Warhol insisted on painting the actual car himself. Warhol reportedly finished the work in just under half an hour, his brushstrokes deliberately raw and spontaneous to emphasize movement even when the car stood still. More than 13 pounds of polymer-based paint, applied via fingerprints, scratches, and other unorthodox techniques, emblazon the car’s bodywork.
Under the hood of the 1979 BMW M1 sits a 3.5-liter inline-six developing 470 bhp. It’s enough to send the car to a top speed of 307 km/h (191 mph). The car competed in Le Mans and placed sixth overall and second in-class. It was piloted by Manfred Winkelhock, Herve Poulain, and Marcel Mignot.
2024 BMW M Hybrid V8
Like the BMW M1Art Car, the M Hybrid V8 competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Albeit, over forty years later. It premiered in Paris just a few weeks before its race day, where René Rast piloted it. Unfortunately, the car was retired due to an accident, so the car’s legacy isn’t quite as legendary as the Warhol M1’s. Where the M Hybrid V8 has the M1 beat, though, is raw performance. The 2024 BMW M Hybrid V8 touts a 640-horsepower hybrid powertrain that can allow the car to achieve speeds of up to 345 km/h (214 mph).
The 2024 BMW M Hybrid V8 was painted by Julie Mehretu. She relied on her painting “Everywhen” to guide her through painting the 20th Art Car in history. “In the studio, where I had the model of the BMW M Hybrid V8, I was just sitting in front of the painting,” she says, “and I thought: What would happen, if this car seemed to go through that painting and becomes affected by it?” The result speaks for itself.
Together, the Warhol BMW M1 and Mehretu’s M Hybrid V8 showcase just how far the Art Car program has come — from raw expressionism in the late 1970s to abstract reinterpretations in 2024. Though separated by more than four decades, both cars carry the same spirit: a celebration of speed, creativity, and innovation that transcends racing and art alike.
