The BMW Art Car Gallery: First Floor
The BMW Art Car concept celebrated its 40th birthday in 2015 and recently the news came down the Mojo wire that in 2017 we will see a brace of new visions, representing the fusion between art and the automobile. The delay is understandable as BMW is having a significant anniversary in 2016, being originally formed one hundred years ago and the focus in Munich will understandably be on that landmark.
The platform for this planned creative endeavour will follow tradition of competition cars, being the new BMW M6 Gt3. Cao Fei and John Baldessari have been selected to follow in the brush-strokes of the likes of Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and David Hockney, it is quite a roll of honor.
So when did this remarkable art collection begin and how did it come into being? The answer is the 1975 Le Mans 24 Hours, but in reality the relationship between the artistic and automotive worlds is almost as old as the car itself. In previous pieces we looked at how wealthy patrons had coach-builders create personal statements that had artistic and aesthetic values that went way beyond the merely functional with the Embiricos Bentley.
Here are some more examples of this movement:
In April 1951, the first cars to be featured in an art gallery exhibition were shown at the New York Museum of Modern Art, like the one of eight, Cisitalia 202 Gran Sport.
So the link between the two worlds of cars and art was well established back in 1975. Since then the BMW Art Car collection has grown and it travels the world. It's as likely to be found at Louvre in Paris or the Guggenheim in Bilbao than in Munich’s BMW Museum, which means the “rolling sculpture” has achieved global status.
The first step of the journey was a presentation by well known auctioneer and art dealer, Hervé Poulain, who was also an experienced racing driver, to Jochen Neerpasch, Head of BMW Motorsport. Their initial meeting had been arranged by none other than Jean Todt, now President of the FIA and the guiding figure in the dominant Schumacher years at Ferrari. Poulain put his plan to get a car provided by BMW, painted by Alexander Calder, and then to race it at Le Mans. He used a scale model of a BMW 3.0 CSL to illustrate the idea. Neerpasch saw merit in the concept and enlisted the assistance of Horst Avenarius, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at BMW, to steer the project through senior management.
So June 14th the CSL lined up on the grid in tenth place overall. Poulain was joined for the race by veteran professional, Sam Posey and 1964-winner Jean Guichet. The trio got the CSL as high as sixth before a broken driveshaft ended their challenge. The BMW Art Car was a reality.
BMW’s original Art Car generated a huge amount of interest, principally in areas that would not normally have noticed a motor race, even Le Mans. Plans were formulated to repeat the exercise. The platform would again be the BMW 3.0 CSL and the artist chosen was Frank Stella. The initial approach to Stella came from Sam Posey and the American artist jumped at the chance to part of this internationally renowned program. The target was once again Le Mans and the bold artistic statement once again grabbed the headlines.
In an attempt to match the powerful Porsche 935 that was dominating the GT class in 1976, BMW turbocharged some of their 3.0 CSL entries; the Art Car was one of those racers. Indeed peak output was 750bhp making it the most powerful car in the race, however it lacked development and was not expected to feature in the event for long. Top endurance drivers, Brian Redman and Peter Gregg were engaged to drive and Poulain practiced the car but did not race. The great endurance racing historian, Dr. János Wimpffen, eloquently summarized the Art Car’s race. “Unfortunately for the serious beret-wearers and espresso-drinkers in the crowd, the run of the Art Car was even shorter than that of the 1975 exhibit.” After 23 laps, an oil leak proved impossible to fix and the Art Car was retired.
Uniquely for an Art Car the Frank Stella 3.0 CSL was entered in a second race, running in the Dijon 6 Hours, a round of the World Manufacturers Championship. An all Swedish driver line up paired Gunnar Nilsson with the legendary Ronnie Peterson. Peterson lived up to his reputation as one of the fastest drivers to ever race by grabbing Pole Position in the face of a strong challenge from the factory Porsches, it was the only time in 1976 that BMW managed to beat their German rivals in Qualifying. Peterson shot into the lead from the start and engaged in a fierce dual with Jacky Ickx in the Martini-sponsored Werks Porsche till a driveshaft failed on lap 34 putting the CSL out of the race and into the Art Gallery for good.
1977 saw another Art Car race at Le Mans. Pop Art guru Roy Lichtenstein drew inspiration from the rising and setting sun, reflecting the night and day aspect of the Le Mans 24 Hours. Lichtenstein’s canvas was a BMW 320i that was entered in the IMSA GT class.
Hervé Poulain was back behind the wheel, joined by the experienced Le Mans competitor, Marcel Mignot. The pair had a great run in a race of attrition, finishing ninth overall and second in class.
Lichtenstein’s humorous aside prior to the race that his design was intended “to increase the car’s speed five miles per hour and to disorientate the contestants” seemed to have been prophetic.
After a year out, the BMW Art Car was ready to return in 1979. Once more the Le Mans 24 Hours was the gallery that the latest creation would be displayed. A dramatic new car, the BMW M1 was to be the subject of the fertile mind of none other than Andy Warhol. Warhol flew to Germany and painted the M1 in less than half an hour, the film crew that was supposed to document this performance were late and missed the opportunity to record a master at work.
Warhol commented on his design. “I have tried to give a vivid depiction of speed. If a car is really fast, all contours and colors will become blurred.”
Speed was the name of the game, Poulain and Mignot were joined by Grand Prix driver Manfred Winkelhock for the French endurance classic.
Despite encountering a few problems, including having the transmission replaced and struggling with a persistent misfire, the M1 took the flag on Sunday afternoon in sixth place overall and second in IMSA +2500cc class.
For the next two decades that would be the end of the association of the BMW Art Car and the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Board had committed to a campaign in Formula One and there was no place for the world of modern art in the Grand Prix circus. It was also the end of the partnership with Hervé Poulain who would later be given the recognition he deserved for bringing the Art Car concept to life, the world would be a poorer place without such works.
(Photos: Copyright and courtesy of BMW AG)
(Interviews taken from BMW Art Cars ISBN 978-3-7757-3345-8 ©BMW AG)
