To celebrate the collection’s 50th anniversary, BMW Welt in Munich is hosting the exhibition “BMW Art Cars—20 Artists, 50 Years Of Innovation. Reunited At BMW Welt.” The event takes place from July 29 to August 31, 2026.
For the first time ever, all 20 BMW Art Cars—often referred to as “rolling sculptures”—are on display together in a single location. The exhibition officially opened on July 28, marking the ceremonial conclusion of the BMW Art Car World Tour, which traveled to more than 30 countries. Across Munich, the celebration also includes a citywide poster campaign featuring René Staud’s color-coded photography series.
Photo by: BMW
BMW’s Art Car History
The story of the BMW Art Car Collection began in 1975, when race driver and art auctioneer Hervé Poulain teamed up with BMW motorsport chief Jochen Neerpasch to commission artist Alexander Calder to paint a BMW 3.0 CSL for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. What started as a one-off collaboration evolved into what Neerpasch described as the world’s most significant collection of automotive art.
Many of the Art Cars are now among the most valuable vehicles in BMW’s collection, blending the work of world-renowned artists—including Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons—with the company’s rich history of design, engineering, and motorsport.
The lineup reads like a who’s who of modern art. Calder launched the series in 1975 with the 3.0 CSL, followed by Frank Stella in 1976 with another CSL and Roy Lichtenstein’s 320i Turbo in 1977. Andy Warhol transformed the iconic M1 in 1979, while Ernst Fuchs and Robert Rauschenberg each reimagined the 635 CSi in 1982 and 1986, respectively. In 1989, Michael Nelson Jagamara and Ken Done each created their own interpretation of the BMW M3 Group A (E30).
Photos by: BMW
The collection continued to expand throughout the 1990s with a diverse range of artistic styles. Matazo Kayama designed a BMW 535i in 1990, while César Manrique created a 730i (E32) that same year. They were followed by A.R. Penck’s Z1 in 1991, Esther Mahlangu’s 525i (E34) later that year, Sandro Chia’s M3 GTR (E36) in 1992, and David Hockney’s 850 CSi in 1995. Jenny Holzer rounded out the decade by designing the BMW V12 LMR race car in 1999.
The new millennium brought another wave of standout entries. Olafur Eliasson used the hydrogen-powered BMW H2R prototype for an environmentally focused installation in 2007, followed by Jeff Koons’ vibrant BMW M3 GT2 in 2010. More recently, John Baldessari created the BMW M6 GTLM in 2016, Cao Fei developed a digital concept based on the BMW M6 GT3 in 2017, and Julie Mehretu completed the latest Art Car in 2024, based on the BMW M Hybrid V8.
Photo by: BMW
The Exhibition
The exhibition is arranged in reverse chronological order, taking visitors from the newest Art Cars back to the beginning of the collection. Along the way, video installations and a detailed timeline provide historical context. The tour begins with John Baldessari’s Art Car #19 and Julie Mehretu’s Art Car #20 before concluding with Alexander Calder’s original Art Car #1, displayed on a central pedestal.
Beyond her BMW M Hybrid V8 project, Mehretu also co-founded the African Film and Media Arts Collective (AFMAC) with Mehret Mandefro. The organization supports African artists and filmmakers and plans to stage a major exhibition at Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town later this year.
One of the exhibition’s standout attractions is Olafur Eliasson’s BMW H2R Project (#16), located on the East Plaza. Built around BMW’s hydrogen-powered H2R prototype, the installation replaces the body panels with a skeletal metal frame coated in frozen water. Illuminated from within and weighing roughly two tons, the sculpture offers a poetic meditation on sustainability and invites viewers to reconsider the automobile through the lens of time and space.
Photos by: Motor1.com Deutschland
Visitors can also interact with the exhibition through several digital experiences. The Treasure Hunt app encourages guests to scan five artworks throughout the exhibit to unlock a complimentary refreshment voucher for Cooper’s Garden. Meanwhile, the Artlas app—available in 25 languages—provides personalized tours, audio guides, and an AI-powered chat experience.
Admission to the exhibition is free, and BMW Welt is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Short bilingual guided tours are available each day and can be booked online. Opening celebrations also featured a panel discussion on the cultural significance of the automobile, along with exclusive merchandise in the BMW Welt shop, including the BMW Art Cars book, scale models, and pieces from Cao Fei’s capsule collection.
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Source: BMW
Motor1’s Take: This is what BMW heaven must look like. All 20 Art Cars together in one place and on display. Get there if you can.
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