During the oil crisis French racecar driver and auctioneer Herve Poulain decided he wanted to do something heroic, so he combined his two loves; art and race cars. Beginning in 1975 with Alexander Calder through the latest collaboration in 2010 with Jeff Koons, there are currently 17 of these finely painted cars in existence. To learn more about the art cars check out the video above or visit bmwdrives.com, but for now check out DeFY. New York’s top 5 BMW art cars of all time below!
Number 5
Ken Done’s 1989 M3
Had it not been for the pink bumper, the Australian artists car would have ranked higher.
Number 4
Frank Stella’s 1976 3.0 CSL
Inspired by technical graph paper, just looking at this car makes you want to solve a calculus equation.
Number 3
Ernst Fuch’s 1982 635 CSI
Fuch stated that the design “represents a hare racing across a motorway at night and leaping over a burning car the – primeval fear and bold dream of surmounting a dimension in which we live.” If you were an American muscle car enthusiast, this car made you consider trading in your hot rod flames for some German ones.
Number 2
Keith Haring 1990 Z1
No disrespect to the Z1 but had this been the 1990 M8 prototype, there would be no denying its place at number 1. Keith could put his signature work on pretty much anything and it would be a go.
Number 1
Jeff Koons’s 2010 M3 GT2
Jeff Koon’s M3 GT2 is titled “Velocity” and for good reason. This car could be sitting in a parking lot with the tires taken off, the engine sitting next to it and you would still be scared to step in front of this thing.
