The BMW Art Cars made history in Munich, where all 20 cars were reunited under one roof for the first time ever. More than 120,000 people visited the free exhibition at BMW Welt from July 29 through August 31, marking the grand finale of the Art Car World Tour’s 50th-anniversary celebrations.
All 20 BMW Art Cars Reunited
The exhibition brought together five decades of BMW vehicles transformed by some of the world’s most influential artists. The collection began with Alexander Calder’s 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL and concluded with Julie Mehretu’s 2024 BMW M Hybrid V8.
Among the other Art Cars on display were works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Esther Mahlangu, Jeff Koons, Cao Fei and Jenny Holzer.
The collection’s diversity is central to its appeal. Rather than simply receiving decorative paint schemes, the BMWs were individually interpreted by the artists, who were given the freedom to transform the vehicles into rolling works of art.
BMW Art Car World Tour Reached More Than 30 Countries
The Munich exhibition concluded a broader global celebration that began in March 2025. During the Art Car World Tour, the collection made 60 stops in more than 30 countries across five continents.
More than two million people saw the BMW Art Cars during the worldwide tour. Its stops included events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Le Mans Classic, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
Although the anniversary exhibition has ended, BMW is not putting the collection entirely back into storage. Starting September 30, the BMW Welt app will offer digital content covering the history and creation of the Art Cars.
BMW Art Cars Coming to Panoramic iDrive
BMW is also bringing five Art Cars to the Panoramic iDrive as widgets for newer BMW models that run on iDrive X. The feature refers to the pillar-to-pillar windshield projection.
The new iX3 was the first BMW to feature the system, followed by the i3 and X5/iX5. Owners will be able to select artwork from five Art Cars: Ken Done’s 1989 M3 Group A, César Manrique’s 1990 730i, A.R. Penck’s 1991 Z1, Esther Mahlangu’s 1991 525i and David Hockney’s 1995 850 CSi.
The Art Cars Continue Their Journey
The physical cars will continue traveling even after the Munich exhibition. Robert Rauschenberg’s Art Car is now on display at the BMW Museum in Munich, while Julie Mehretu’s M Hybrid V8 is scheduled to head to Cape Town in December.
BMW has not revealed details about the next Art Car. Julie Mehretu’s M Hybrid V8 is only a couple of years old, leaving the identity of the #21 car unknown and raising the possibility of whether the first EV could receive the Art Car treatment.
