The BMW Art Car by Frank Stella in miniature

Press Release

Blueprint for the car. The BMW Art Car by Frank Stella in miniature.

In his design, Stella was inspired by the car's technical charisma. The result was a black and white square framework that fits exactly over the entire car and acts like over-sized millimetre-squared paper. Within the framework, pattern-like lines criss-cross the bodywork. Even in its small format, the miniature conveys to the observer the unusual idea of an artist who understands the resulting colour pattern as pleasant decoration for the vehicle.

The idea for the BMW Art Cars came about in 1975, when the auctioneer and racing driver of the 24-hour race at Le Mans, Hervé Poulain, was looking for a link between art and motor racing. He had his BMW 3.0 CSL designed as a work of art by his friend, the American artist Alexander Calder. The first BMW Art Car was born. And it's not just art collectors and BMW fans who hold the uniqueness of BMW's Art Cars in high esteem. Since 1975, some of the most important artists of the century have been lending their own individual artistic style to the design of BMW cars. The collection has become a reflection of contemporary culture - as exemplary as they are unique. Each car is a masterpiece in itself.

In addition to the new miniature by Frank Stella, there are already BMW Art Car miniatures from Alexander Calder, A.R. Penck, Jenny Holzer, Andy Warhol, Ernst Fuchs, Michael Jagamara Nelson and Sandro Chia. Soon, there will be fifteen BMW Art Cars in miniature format.

The Art Car miniatures are available in a scale of 1:18, boasting a wealth of details and a level of manufacturing precision that matches the originals. Specific attention has been paid when creating the miniatures to include every artistic aspect of the originals, in order to create perfect pieces of art in miniature too.

The original BMW Art Car miniatures are available worldwide from BMW dealers and in selected museum shops.