40 Years of BMW ART CARS: A unique canvas for the world's foremost artists

摘要

Forty years ago, art dealer Herve Poulain not only persuaded BMW to let him drive a 3.0 CSL in the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans, but he also talked the automaker into it being painted by American artist Alexander Calder, better known for his whimsical mobile sculptures than for using 480-horsepower race cars as a canvas. Poulain's clever proposal to transform the CSL into rolling art set the stage for what unexpectedly became a series of vehicles now known as the BMW Art Cars. And as we looked over five of our favorites at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Lake Como in Italy, we saw past the clever marketing ploy and instead reflected on the powerful cultural force that Art Cars has become.