50 Years and Art Cars for BMW France

On the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, BMW France offers a retrospective on half a century of passion at the pace of Art Cars.

In 1973, BMW Group created its first international subsidiary in Europe and chose France. A decision that paved the way for the company’s internationalization and modern history. A bold choice, but a rewarding one.

Impossible to talk about BMW’s relationship with France without mentioning the Art Cars! That’s the focus of the second exhibition, which offers an immersion into the Saga of “BMW Art Cars”. A story that begins in France at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1975, initiated by Maître Hervé Poulain, the fastest auctioneer in the world, who launched the first BMW Art Car, spectacularly featuring Alexander Calder, who is exceptionally present for the occasion.

Moving sculptures—that was Hervé Poulain’s idea when he was a young auctioneer and talented French driver who sought to connect automobiles and art. In 1975, he approached artist Alexander Calder, the inventor of mobile art, and convinced him to create a car. Together with Jochen Neerpasch, BMW’s head of motorsport, Hervé Poulain found a partner who provided a BMW 3.0 CSL, the suitable racing car. On June 14, 1975, Hervé Poulain took to the Le Mans circuit in his artwork signed by Calder, who gave him one instruction: “Win Hervé, but drive gently”.

This was the birth of the great history of BMW Art Cars. Today, the BMW Art Car collection is a globally recognized collection of nineteen cars signed by the greatest artists of the last 50 years, from Calder to Warhol, Baldessari, and soon Julie Merethu. The latter will depict a BMW M Hybrid V8, the twentieth BMW Art Car, marking BMW’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2024.