A BMW “Art Car” signed Jeff Koons

The official BMW M3 number 79, entered in the GT2 category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, marks the return of an “Art Car” to the Le Mans circuit. THE Art Car, a concept born in 1975, and which we owe to the auctioneer Hervé Poulain, present this morning.

“One day, I said to myself that it was time to do something significant and grandiose, and to combine my two passions by asking a famous artist of the moment to paint my racing cars” declared the former French racing driver.

After Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, it was the American contemporary artist Jeff Koons who was approached. Highly anticipated, the decoration of the car was revealed to the public this morning, at the Georges Pompidou center in Paris, by the author of the work.

“I always thought it would be a joy to work on a BMW Art Car, says the former husband of the pornographic actress nicknamed La Cicciolina. These racing cars are like life, powerful and full of energy. We can participate in this momentum, accentuate it, and let ourselves be transcended by this energy. There is such power under this hood, that I want to let my mind absorb the car and connect to this power.

Jeff Koons, designated by U2 singer Bono as the ideal artist to design a car that would reconcile the public with automobiles, worked for many months with BMW Motorsport and even traveled to the United States to attend testing at Sebring on February 23. Born in 1955 in York, Pennsylvania, Jeff Koons exhibits his works around the world.

The number, 79, is not the result of chance either, since it pays homage to the car (an M1) decorated by Andy Warhol in 1979, the latter itself bearing the number 76, to recall the year of participation of the BMW 3.0 CSL whose dress was entrusted to Frank Stella.

This rolling work of art will see Germans Dirk Werner and Dirk Müller take turns at the wheel, as well as Briton Andy Priaulx, three-time WTCC world champion. Recently winner of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, the M3 E92 will try to live up to its decoration. And that will be necessary to claim the podium in the GT2 category.

Don't miss our 24 2010 Hours of Le Mans Guide, currently on newsstands, so you don't miss anything from the 78th edition of the Le Mans classic.