thoughts from the boardroom W
Chris Brownridge. CEO BMW (UK) Ltd.
hile BMW is renowned for its class leading automobiles and motorbikes, we also have very close ties to the arts. At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show we became the first manufacturer to bring digital art into our cars and we have a long history of cultural engagement in a variety of different forms. However, when you mention the words art and BMW in the same sentence, most of us will immediately think of the famous BMW Art Cars; iconic BMWs that are rolling masterpieces of artistic expression created by internationally acclaimed artists. It all started back in 1975 when Alexander Calder was commissioned to design a livery for a BMW 3.0 CSL that would race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was a glorious machine and since then there have been a further 18 Art Cars created by artists such as Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, David Hockney and Jeff Koons. Some have been based on racing cars while others are road cars and I must admit I find it incredibly difficult to decide which is my favourite. We were fortunate enough to pay host to the Art Car collection in 2012 when they were on display in an east London car park and it was quite a sight to see them all together in London. I was particularly taken with Koons’ striking design for the 17th Art Car, an M3 GT2,
8 BMW Car Club Magazine April 2022
that raced at Le Mans back in 2010 and I’m incredibly pleased that we have once again collaborated with Koons to create the stunning THE 8 X JEFF KOONS, the most elaborately designed car in BMW’s entire history. But this time it’s not a one off machine – 99 of these incredible M850i xDrive Gran Coupés will be constructed and are now on sale. Imagine that, your very own mobile work of art on your driveway. As with his M3 GT2 the M850i xDrive uses vibrant colours and explores the themes of power, motion and energy with Koons commenting, “It is sporty and flashy as well as minimalist and conceptual.” I’m a huge fan of its design and am in awe of the planning and execution involved in its manufacture. As you would expect the artists who have designed the Art Cars over the years have all taken a different approach
in terms of how they have interpreted the BMW on which they have arranged their composition but also in the way the pattern has been applied to the car. Some used scale models while others painted straight onto the car’s bodywork. Andy Warhol famously took around half an hour to apply his design to the Group 4 M1 race car, but for the Koons’ 8 Series the procedure was a little more complex. It was a huge challenge for the paint specialists at our Plant Landshut who are already experts in producing around 2,000 panels a day in 45 standard and 200 custom colours. For this project, it was an exceptionally complex process with 11 different colours being required. The boot lid alone required seven hues and 12 coats of paint with a total thickness of less than three human hairs. Quite an achievement. Just four of these special 8 Series models can be painted each week such is the complexity involved in their construction. While THE 8 X JEFF KOONS isn’t the same as the unique Art Cars I like to think it offers the best of both worlds, a symbiosis of Koons’ art and a celebration of the incredible skill and craft that we have in our paint shops. The M850i xDrive Gran Coupé is a superb machine and a fitting canvas for the project and I’m happy to admit that I’m rather jealous of those lucky 99 owners.
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