BMW’s New Art Car Will Actually Race at 24 Hours of Le Mans Next Year
BMW found just the artist it was looking for.
The German marque announced Wednesday night that Julie Mehretu will create its 20th Art Car. And the entire world will get to see the vehicle, an M Hybrid V8 race car, when it competes in next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
More from Robb Report
Meet the Artists Making a Name for Themselves on the World's Most Luxurious Yachts
GM Didn't Win Le Mans, but It Put Motorsport on Notice. Here's How.
Richard Mille's Speedy New Chronograph Pays Tribute to the Le Mans Classic
Mehretu, an Ethiopian American artist best known for her work in abstract painting, was the unanimous selection of a panel of international museum directors and curators, BMW announced during a special event at New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The long-running program got its start in 1975, when Alexander Calder was commissioned to paint a 3.0 CSL. Since then, some of the biggest names in contemporary art have participated—including Andy Warhol, Jenny Holzer, and Jeff Koons. Mehtru’s Art Car will the first since Cao Fei’s M6 GT3 in 2017.
“I was completely stunned,” Mehretu told the crowd when asked about her reaction to the news. “I didn’t know how on Earth I would even approach the idea of painting a car. In fact, my first instinctual reaction, internally, was, this is impossible.”
The vehicles, or “rolling sculptures” as BMW likes to call them, have always been meant for more than just display, with multiple having competed in official races. This is especially true of Mehretu’s Art Car, which will go to Le Mans with the intention of winning. It sounds like the M Hybrid V8 will have a chance, too, thanks to an electrified power train that generates 640 hp and 479 ft lbs of torque and redlines at 8,200 rpm. Next year’s race will also mark BMW’s to Le Mans following a 25-year absence. It last competed in 1999, when the V12 LMR earned the automaker its only overall victory in the famous endurance race. Holzer’s Art Car ran in testing that year but did not compete.
An M Hybrid V8 was present at the Guggenheim, but Mehretu, whose intricate works draw on architecture and urban settings for inspiration, still has to create her Art Car. She currently has a 1/5 scale model of the vehicle in her studio and plans to begin working on the actual body later this year. In the meantime, she’s in conversation with the race car’s designers to make sure she comes up with something that doesn’t hamper the car’s performance.
“We want the car to win,” she joked to the crowd. “Like, I really want the car to win if we can.”
Mehretu’s competition-grade Art Car will make its official public in a little less than a year, when the 24 Hours of Le Mans is held at the world-famous Circuit de La Sarthe on June 15 and 16. Fortunately, we have a feeling BMW will offer a number of teases to keep art and car lovers happy until then.
Best of Robb Report
Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
