Article: Holiday Snaps - Part 1

[Steve Holmes]

My favorite car in the museum was this incredible BMW M1 art car. Of all of BMWs series of art cars, this is perhaps the most famous. It was painted by Andy Warhol, who apparently did the whole thing in 28 minutes. But the car was raced as well. Being a Group 4 competition car, it competed at the 1979 Le Mans 24 Hours, and finished 6th overall, and second in class. Drivers were Manfred Winklehock, Marcel Mignot, and Herve Poulain.

What is interesting is just how rough the paint work is. It was applied with a brush, while Warhol ran his fingers through the paint when it was wet. It looks great, and has a bunch of character. I believe the model is the same one Warhol painted first as a mock-up before starting on the real thing.

The BMW art cars have always fascinated me, but this is the first one I've seen in the flesh. Understandably, it was hard to get a photo without other people getting in the way.