Julie Mehretu's BMW Art Car

The 20th BMW Art Car, designed by renowned New York-based artist Julie Mehretu, has been unveiled at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. This project transforms the BMW M Hybrid V8 race car into a dynamic work of art, continuing BMW's tradition of blending art with competitive racing. Following its Paris debut, the car will compete in the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Mehretu’s work often explores themes of space, movement, and energy. For the 20th BMW Art Car, she translated a two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional form, using the visual language of her monumental painting "Everywhen" (2021-2023). This painting, part of her major retrospective at Palazzo Grassi in Venice, will eventually join the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

The car's abstract design is based on digitally altered photographs layered with dot grids, neon-coloured veils, and Mehretu’s characteristic black markings. "In the studio with the BMW M Hybrid V8 model, I imagined the car interacting with my painting, as if it were passing through and being transformed by it," Mehretu explains. "The concept was a remix, a mash-up of the painting with the car absorbing its essence."

This fusion of art and racing car was achieved using 3D mapping, allowing the design to be transferred onto the car’s contours. The intricate foiling ensures that the fully designed BMW M Hybrid V8 can compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Drivers Sheldon van der Linde, Robin Frijns, and René Rast will race the 20th BMW Art Car, bearing the number 20, on June 15 at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Before the race, Mehretu's BMW Art Car will be showcased at the Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este in Lake Como. As part of the exhibition organised by BMW and the Grand Hotel Villa d'Este, Mehretu will present the 20th BMW Art Car alongside previous models designed by Alexander Calder (1975), Frank Stella (1976), Roy Lichtenstein (1977), Andy Warhol (1979), Jenny Holzer (1999) and Jeff Koons (2010), all of which also debuted at Le Mans.

Photos © BMW