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It's over forty years since Alexander Calder painted the first BMW Art Car, a 3.0 CSL racer. Since then, there have been numerous different iterations on both road and race car 'canvas', with artists like Andy Warhol being commissioned to transform a hunk of metal, rubber, plastic and glass into their own artistic vision. Of course, art is entirely subjective, so we'll let you form your own opinion on the luridly-coloured creations of years gone by.
For the 18th Art Car, BMW asked Chinese artist Cao Fei to realise her ideas on an M6 GT3 racing car, which was shown to the world earlier this year. It's set to make its race debut at the fearsome Guia Circuit in Macau this weekend as part of the FIA GT World Cup, driven by Augusto Farfus and ran by BMW Team Schnitzer.
There will be three other M6 GT3s in action, though all eyes will be on Cao Fei's creation. A departure from previous Art Cars, her idea was to involve the digital world. The car itself is painted a non-reflective black, but when the dedicated 'BMW Art Car #18' app is used in its vicinity to view it, a virtual experience comes to life. It's a little hard to describe, so see the photos for yourself. Or go to Macau, whatever's easier...
Cao is understandably thrilled, commenting, "I'm very excited for the upcoming race! This is a completely new experience for me to see one of my artworks set to motion at breathtaking speed. May the best car and driver win! No matter the result, Macau is a one-of-a-kind city with a thrilling race, and this will surely be unforgettable. No matter what, me and my family will be cheering together with the BMW team for Augusto Farfus and my Art Car all the way to the finishing line."