For the first time in the region: BMW Group Middle East brings Andy Warhol’s iconic BMW M1 Art Car to Art Dubai 2025

3 April 2025, Dubai, UAE. Coinciding with the BMW Art Car Collection’s 50^th anniversary, BMW Group Middle East is set to bring an extraordinary highlight to this year’s edition of Art Dubai (16-20 April). Among the most celebrated pieces in this legendary collection is the BMW M1 Art Car, transformed by the visionary Andy Warhol, will take center stage in an exclusive showcase at the region’s premier art fair.

Warhol’s bold and expressive strokes turned the BMW M1 into a moving canvas, capturing the essence of speed, dynamism, and artistic revolution. Reflecting on his creation, Warhol himself declared:

“I love that car. It has turned out better than the artwork.”

— Andy Warhol, BMW Art Car #4, 1979

Now, decades later, and for the first time ever, this masterpiece is making its way to Dubai, marrying the worlds of automotive excellence and contemporary art.

Karim-Christian Haririan, Managing Director of BMW Group Middle East said: “The BMW Art Car collection embodies our commitment to creativity, innovation, and cultural expression. Andy

Warhol’s BMW M1 Art Car is a true masterpiece that bridges the worlds of art and automotive excellence, and we are thrilled to bring this iconic work to Art Dubai 2025. Our participation in this year’s Art Dubai reinforces BMW Group Middle East’s dedication to fostering artistic dialogue and cultural exchange in the region. This moment not only celebrates 50 years of BMW Art Cars but also highlights our ongoing support for the arts and our role in shaping creative conversations worldwide.”

“Art and culture have been part of the DNA of the BMW Group for over 50 years. That’s why I’m proud to see BMW Middle East not just participating in the region’s cultural scene, but actively shaping it,” – says Dr. Thomas Girst, Head of Cultural Engagement, BMW Group. “With the BMW Art Car World Tour now underway, I’m especially delighted that the Middle East is playing a role in this global celebration of heritage, innovation, art and design.”

BMW Art Talk

On the theme of “Driven by Art: Are Commissions and Co-Creations the Future?” a BMW Art Talk will be held on 17 April 2025 at the Art Dubai. This talk allows for a deeper introspection into the evolution of the BMW Art Car series over the past 50 years, examining its intersection with art, design, and automotive innovation. The panel will feature speakers including Hans Ulrich Obrist (curator and artistic director), Stephanie Rosenthal (art historian and curator, Director of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi), and Azu Nwagbogu (Nigerian art curator and cultural advocate, Founder and Director of the African Artists' Foundation) and Prof. Dr Thomas Girst (Head of Cultural Engagement, BMW Group). Speakers will explore how the BMW Art Car collection has served as both a canvas for visionary artists and a mirror of societal and technological change, while also examining the impact of commissioned art on cultural narratives and the future of artistic collaboration through co-creations.

The 4th BMW Art Car: Andy Warhol, 1979.

The individual meets the mass-produced in Andy Warhol's art. But instead of covering the prototype BMW M1 with quotations from pop culture, Warhol reached for his paintbrush and left his own, very personal signature on the car, which had only recently left the drawing board of design legend Giorgio Giugiaro. With broad brushstrokes, 13 pounds (6 kilograms) of paint and in just 28 minutes, Warhol covered the car in colours and textures that clearly reveal his artistic gestures, even today. "I have tried to give a vivid depiction of speed. If a car is really fast, all the contours and colours will become blurred," he said. Hervé Poulain, the founder of the BMW Art Car Collection, witnessed Warhol painting the car and compared it to a live dance performance.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) is considered one of the most influential artists of the modern age and a major proponent of Pop Art. Established in 1962, his legendary New York studio - The Factory, a meeting place for artists, musicians and actors - revolutionised how art was understood, blurring the boundaries between advertisements and high culture. His iconic series of portraits, showing such figures as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Mao Zedong, along with his screen prints of consumer goods, made him one of the most-referenced artists of his time. His works and ideas continue to shape pop culture and the art market today.

Andy Warhol's Art Car raced for the first and only time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979. Numbered 76, the M1 was driven by Manfred Winkelhock from Germany, as well as Hervé Poulain and Marcel Mignot from France, finishing sixth overall and second in its class.