jeff koons' BMW art car revealed

earlier this year, BMW announced that american artist jeff koons, would design the 17th art car for the german automotive company.

jeff koons with his BMW art car image courtesy BMW

now, after some months of anticipation, jeff koons‘ completed BMW art car has finally been revealed and signed by the artist at the centre pompidou, paris – the same place where roy lichtenstien presented his art car back in 1977.

the canvas for koons’ creation is a BMW M3 GT2, which was homologated to compete at this year’s running of the world’s most famous endurance race. on june 12th – 13th, the 495 hp vehicle will follow in the footsteps of the first BMW art cars and have its run in the 24 hour of le mans race in france.

jeff koons with his BMW art car image courtesy BMW

jeff koons’ signing his BMW art car image courtesy BMW

up close of koons’ signature image courtesy BMW

back view of the car with koons’ signature image courtesy BMW

side view image courtesy BMW

as part of his creative process for the project, koons collected images of race cars, related graphics, explosions…

he worked very closely with the BMW engineering and design teams to conduct in-depth explorations of materials and application options which would prove advantageous in optimizing both the aesthetic and aerodynamic attributes of the race car. the challenge of creating the BMW art car had to do with using a light material application that would not interfere with the car’s aerodynamics and weight when put to the test.

koons’ graphics is a digital print on the car in wrapping vinyl, covered by a double clear-coating to bring out the color. CAD designs were translated from 3D to 2D for the printing process and then applied to the entire car, including individual spare parts. the result is a vehicle with hundreds of dynamic lines, expressed through bright contrasting colors communicating the aesthetics of power – making the car look fast even when it is sitting still. bold images of debris were added to the rear sides and back of the car simulating the force of the vehicle. two graphic rings at the rear represent supersonic acceleration.

top view image courtesy BMW