Paintjob1 - Frank Stella 1976 ( http://www.7-forum.com/artcars/bmw_artcar_stella.html )

"The pattern should be regarded as agreeable decoration", says Frank Stella of the black and white square grid with which he covered the  BMW 3.0 CSL. A pattern which has an evenness and precision reminiscent of oversized graph paper.

Within the grid, numerous lines run across the whole bodywork and leave the car looking like one great pattern. While working on his draft version, Stella disassociated himself from his usual random style of painting and sought inspiration from the technical aura of the sports coupe. The BMW 3.0 CSL took part in the 24-hour race at Le Mans - for Stella, a passionate fan of motor racing, it was a very special premiere for his new work of art.




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Paintjob2 - Alexander Calder 1975 ( http://www.7-forum.com/artcars/bmw_artcar_calder.html )

The  BMW 3.0 CSL, with which Alexander Calder laid the foundations of the Art Car Collection in 1975, was also one of the last works he produced before his death.

And it was an extraordinarily interesting work too: as a sculptor, Calder broke free from the formal restraints imposed by the sports car and drew his own unique artistic lines. 

Like his sculptures and mobiles (so named by the French Dada artist Marcel Duchamp), he used powerful colors on attractive curving expanses, which spread liberally over the roof, hood and wings. 

Calder's artwork was on show the very same year at the 24-hour race at Le Mans, an event which the artist attended.

Alexander Calder died November 11, 1976, in New York City, just after supervising the installation of his largest retrospective exhibition, at the Whitney Museum of American Art. 




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Paintjob 3 - Roy Lichtenstein 1977 ( http://www.7-forum.com/artcars/bmw_artcar_lichtenstein.html )

"I wanted to use painted lines as a road, pointing the way for the car", says Roy Lichtenstein of his portrayal of the  BMW 320i. "The design also shows the scenery through which the car has driven. You could call it a list of all the things a car experiences - the only difference is that this car mirrors all these things even before it takes to the road."

And if you look more closely at Lichtenstein's Art Car, you will recognize reflections of a passing landscape, in which the long stretches of color give an impression of speed. Also noticeable are the typical "Benday dots" - oversized dots which recall Lichtenstein's world-famous comic-strip pictures. In the same year, his BMW Art Car won second place in its class at the 24-hour race at Le Mans.
