This is the 1979 BMW M1 Group 4 Procar & although the M1 Procar is rare as is, this example takes things to a whole new level. This example was painted by one of the world’s greatest artists, Andy Warhol. This car is part of the ‘BMW Art Car Project’ which began in 1975 when French racecar driver Hervé Poulain wanted to invite a American artist, Alexander Calder, to paint a canvas on a BMW 3.0 CSL that was going to be raced in the 1975 24 hours of Le Mans. Since then, multiple renowned artists such as David Hockney, Jenny Holzer, Roy Lichtenstein and others have also gone on to create they’re own BMW Art Cars & to date a total of 20 have been created, and 9 of these 20 cars have also been used for racing. For those of you that may not know about Warhol, he was a highly respected artist, film director, and producer who was one of the leading figures in the visual art movement known as ‘pop art’. Not only just an iconic piece of art, additionally this 1979 BMW M1 Pro Car was also entered into the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans and was driven by Manfred Winkelhock, Hervé Poulain and Marcel Mignot finishing second in class, sixth overall. Perhaps more intriguing than the car itself is the story of how the car was brought to life. Warhol took a total of 28 minutes to paint the entire car in a shop outside of Munich, except the ‘76’ which was added only minutes before it’s race at Le Mans in 1979. By the time TV crews came to see the process, Warhol had already finished his work and had famously asked “Should I paint another car?”. Warhol’s M1 Procar was the 4th of 20 total ‘Art Cars’ created, and 2019 marked the 40th anniversary since the cars creation in 1979. Unlike the other art cars that came before, car number 4 by Warhol was the first of the Art Cars to be painted entirely and solely by one artist, rather than a group of assistants under the artists supervision.
How many made? One-of-a-kind
Engine: 3.5L M88/1 DOHC naturally aspirated inline-6 producing 470hp
Debut: 1978 Paris Motor Show
Top Speed: 192mph
0-60: 4.5 seconds
Photo Credit: @classictorque
Research: @rarecarsonly