MINIATURE MARVELS: ART AND DESIGN IN MOTION

BMW Unveils Four More Miniatures in its Revered Art Car Collection; Works by
Hockney, Done, Kayama and Mahlangu Complete the Line

Woodcliff Lake, NJ - February 9, 2006... From their conception in 1975, the
BMW Art Cars have combined the high performance of BMW with the vivid imagery
of the art world becoming outlets for esteemed artists to express their
creative interpretation of motion. Through magnificent strokes and splashes
of color, the Art Cars have created a cultural phenomenon that combines the
automobile and art worlds.

The BMW Art Car collection features 15 miniatures to date, with timed releases
through 2006. The Miniatures are available for purchase at BMW dealers, at the
Web site www.bmw-online.com, or by calling 888-269-6654.

The first BMW Art Car was created in 1975 by American artist Alexander Calder
for his friend Hervé Poulain, auctioneer and driver in the 24-hour race at Le
Mans. More than 25 years later, the interaction of technology and culture has
become a cultural mainstay with pervasive appeal. BMW has recently
commissioned prominent contemporary artist Olafur Eliasson to begin work on the
sixteenth Art Car, to be based on the hydrogen-powered BMW H²R.

The four artists represented in this most recent release in the Art Car
miniature collection explore the functionality and freedom of the automobile
combined with their own experience translating ideas to the magnificently
complex canvas of the BMW.

Ken Done
Born in Australia, Done studied at the National Art School in Sydney and went
on to work as an advertising graphic designer for 20 years working in New York,
London and Sydney. Extremely talented, he sought another medium to express
himself and quit this profession to devote more time to painting. Done quickly
gained the reputation as a revered Australian painter after his first
exhibition in 1980 and his work was sought after by many. In 1988 he was
commissioned to transform the exterior of the Australian and UN Pavilions at
EXPO and the lively colors and strong brush strokes of his paintings are on
display at exhibitions, museums and galleries around the world.

While he has received countless accolades for his amazing paintings, Done felt
extremely honored when asked to paint a BMW racing car and likened it to
playing Jack Nicklaus at golf or having a car race against Brazilian racing
phenom Nelson Piquet. He wanted to have his M3 depict a marriage of artistic
and technical modes including native Australian images - parrots and parrot
fish which he felt had a strong affinity to the M3 and its swift, high
performance capabilities. "I have painted parrots and parrot fish. Both are
beautiful and able to move at fantastic speeds. I wanted my BMW Art Car to
express the same qualities."

Matazo Kayama
Matazo Kayama introduced modernism in the realm of traditional art and helped
to establish a new art form in Japan. Born in Kyoto in 1927, he studied
painting and traditional Japanese arts before exhibiting works for the first
time in 1949. Becoming an instant hit he won the Research Society Prize in
1950 and subsequently the New Artist Prize in 1951. He then worked on animal
motifs before moving on in 1965 to "byobu" illustrations which are the artistic
decoration of special folding screens. Kamaya's famed piece "Snow, Moon and
Flowers" commissioned by the National Museum of Arts earned him first prize in
the Japan Fine Arts Grand Prix. It is this work that was the inspiration for
the recreation of his BMW 535i.

Kayama painted "Snow, Moon and Flowers" in a whole new way on his 535i using an
airbrush technique spraying fine blue shadows on the silver exterior of the car
to highlight the contrast and play up the car's elegance. He then utilized
meticulous Japanese techniques such as "Kirigane" - metal cutting and "Arare" -
foil impression where small pieces of silver, gold and aluminum foil were cut
out and transferred onto the body work of the 535i. The end result has the
dazzling effect of the car floating along in the midst of a winter snow storm.

Esther Mahlangu
Art is a medium that transcends time and is usually deeply routed in
tradition. Esther Mahlangu learned the South African tribal art form of
Ndebele painting from her mother. One of many tribal art forms found in the
country, the striking features of the popular Ndebele is recognizable as the
mural painting of huts. Solely painted by women, each pattern has significance
and meaning which has since been lost throughout the years.

Esther is recognized as a leader in South Africa for her Ndebele works and has
recently made the transition from murals to canvas and took on the challenge of
transforming her BMW 525i into a tribal masterpiece. "Ndebele art is naturally
grandiose in form and only needed the concept of motion added."

Mahlangu's Art Car marries tradition to the nature of the BMW - high
performance and design ingenuity.

David Hockney
As one of the major artistic contributors to the "Swinging Sixties", Hockney
became renowned for his unique style of pop art which became as popular as that
of Andy Warhol's. Working in California, London, and in the course of his
extensive travels, Hockney's work has a strong focus on people and their
environments. His images of sunshine, palm trees, swimming pools and the clear
blue sky have been heavily influenced by his Los Angeles surroundings where he
has been a resident since 1964.

Dabbling in other forms of artistry, Hockney worked extensively in photography
and theater design in the eighties learning from the challenges he encountered
and altering his approach to painting - the medium he now works in today. He
rose to the occasion when faced to with the challenge of decorating his 850 CSi
and combined his love of driving with that of his creativity and showed the car
as if the inside could be viewed through the body. This unusual transparency
took several months to create with stylized intake manifolds of the engine
appearing on the bonnet of the car, a driver is visible through the door as
well as a dachshund eagerly perched in the backseat. His distinctive depiction
of his love for driving led to a powerful interpretation of that experience
through his Art Car design.

BMW Art Car Miniatures expertly capture the essence and detail of the originals
in a precise 1:18 scale. The artistic ingenuity is preserved as every aspect
of the originals has been captured in these perfect miniature works of art.

Initially only 3,000 copies of each Art Car were made with a suggested retail
price of $127 each. Each Art Car comes with an acrylic display case. Other BMW
Art Car artists include Andy Warhol, Jenny Holzer and Roy Lichtenstein.
Beginning in February 2006, 15 original BMW Art Cars will be available at
selected museum shops worldwide.