Art on four wheels as small series from Dingolfing.

Exclusive THE 8 X JEFF KOONS limited-edition BMW model to be built at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing from March +++ Expressive design applied in unique combination of large-scale production processes and meticulous craftsmanship at Dingolfing paint shop +++

Dingolfing. On 17 February, the strictly limited-edition model THE 8 X JEFF KOONS, based on the BMW M850i xDrive Gran Coupé (fuel consumption combined: 11.0-10.7 l/100 km WLTP, CO₂ emissions combined: 251-243 g/km WLTP) celebrated its world premiere on the occasion of the Frieze art fair in Los Angeles. Production of the 99 models will get underway at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing in March – relying on a unique combination of established large-scale standard production processes and craftsmanship at the Lower Bavarian plant’s paint shop.

This exclusive special model is the most elaborately designed vehicle in BMW history. Over a period of many months, American artist Jeff Koons perfected sketches of the expressive exterior design of his dream BMW and then assisted with its implementation in three-dimensional form in the actual car.

He travelled from New York to Dingolfing several times in the last few months for workshops involving intense discussions with BMW specialists about lines and joints, angles and perspectives, colours or the choice and arrangement of materials for the vehicles’ interior.

“We are proud to produce these ‘sculptures on wheels’ here in Dingolfing and to share our extensive car building know-how, our attention to detail, our precision and the craftsmanship of our employees,” says Christoph Schröder, head of Plant Dingolfing. “It is also a very special small series for us and an honour to work with one of the most renowned artists of our time.”

THE 8 X JEFF KOONS

The limited edition’s expressive, sporty and powerful exterior design combines 11 different colours, from blue to silver and yellow to black. It features pop-art elements as well as geometric patterns that are precisely tailored to the sophisticated lines and forms of the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupé. The lines of colour that explode across the rear of the vehicle are a direct tribute to Jeff Koons’ own 2010 BMW Art Car. According to Koons, the “POP!” stencilled on the sides and the swirls of wind symbolise power and speed.

Over 200 hours of manual work for exterior paintwork alone

Production of the vehicle will get underway at Plant Dingolfing in March. The process for body construction and assembly does not differ significantly from that of a BMW 8 Series Gran Coupé that can be ordered as a regular product. However, other components and materials chosen by the artist will also be installed in the limited-edition model to customise the vehicle – from the seats in rich tones of red and blue, to the finest leather, up to and including the artist’s signature in the Bavarian Blue of the BMW logo on the cupholder trim.

Once it reaches the paint shop, the limited-edition model goes through an entirely custom process in which Jeff Koons’ unique design is applied layer by layer to a vehicle with a Glacier Silver basecoat. This does not, of course, take place in the normal series process on the plant’s highly automated finish paint lines, but in separate spray booths with workstations designed for skilled manual work. Here, a team of around 20 employees applies the lettering, graphic elements and coloured lines or surfaces by hand, layer by layer, with the help of stencils or foils.

“We use a total of eight different design colours,” explains Marco Klante, the project manager at the Dingolfing paint shop. At certain intervals, the vehicles are returned to the standard production process, where the hand-applied design is “sealed” with a clear coat. The vehicles are also finely brushed by hand on a regular basis to ensure smooth transitions between individual painted design elements that cannot be detected by hand. This is another highly time-consuming process requiring the utmost precision. “Because all the paint coats applied together are not even half a millimetre thick,” Klante explains.

A hand-picked team of paint specialists was brought together for the project, some of whom already had experience working on custom paintwork for Rolls-Royce and the BMW 7 Series. The team, working in three shifts around the clock, also includes former painting apprentices who are among the best in the country. This means four of these special models can be painted in a week. Each vehicle requires well over 200 hours just for exterior painting of the body. Plastic mounted parts like the elaborately painted tailgate are supplied by the nearby BMW Group Plant Landshut.

Those responsible at Plant Dingolfing are looking forward to the official start of production. Christoph Schröder: “We are very well prepared and have worked with Jeff Koons to optimise every detail for overall effect. Now, we have to realise these 99 vehicles with maximum precision and repeat accuracy as the artist intended and in the interests of our customers.”

CO₂ EMISSIONS & FUEL CONSUMPTION.

BMW M850i xDrive Gran Coupé
Fuel consumption combined: 11.0-10.7 l/100 km WLTP,

CO₂ emissions combined: 251-243 g/km WLTP.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Manuel Sattig, BMW Group Plant Dingolfing, head of Communications

Telephone: 49 8731 76 22020, Email: Manuel.Sattig@bmwgroup.com

Thomas Niedermeier, BMW Group Plant Dingolfing, Communications

Telephone: +49 8731 76 27666, Email: Thomas.Niedermeier@bmwgroup.com

Media website: www.press.bmwgroup.com, www.bmw-werk-dingolfing.de

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmwgroupwerkdingolfing/

Email: presse@bmw.de

BMW Group Plant Dingolfing
Plant Dingolfing is one of the BMW Group’s 31 global production sites and the company’s largest European manufacturing facility. Around 1,600 BMW 4 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series and 8 Series cars, as well as the new fully-electric BMW iX, come off the production line at Plant 02.40 every day. In total, the plant manufactured around 232,000 vehicles in 2020.
At present, around 17,000 people are employed at the site in Lower Bavaria.
With more than 850 apprentices in 15 different occupations in addition to this, Dingolfing is also the BMW Group’s largest training facility.
In addition to cars, vehicle components such as pressed parts and chassis and drive systems are also produced in Dingolfing. Component plant 02.20 is also home to the company-wide Competence Centre for E-Drive Production, which supplies the BMW Group’s vehicle plants worldwide with electric motors and high-voltage batteries for production of plug-in hybrids and pure electric models. This e-drive production facility is currently undergoing massive expansion and will employ more than 2,000 people in the medium term.
The car bodies for all Rolls-Royce models are also built at the site. The so-called Dynamics Centre, a large storage and transshipment facility at the heart of the BMW Group’s aftersales logistics, provides the global BMW and MINI retailer organisation with original parts and equipment.

The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2021, the BMW Group sold over 2.5 million passenger vehicles and more than 194,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2020 was € 5.222 billion on revenues amounting to € 98.990 billion. As of 31 December 2020, the BMW Group had a workforce of 120,726 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company set its course for the future early on and is making sustainability and resource efficiency the focus of the company’s strategic direction – from the supply chain, through production, to the end of the use phase, for all its products. 

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