motoring
To confuse issues somewhat, there are several unofficial BMW Art Cars, too. The German artist and graphic designer Walter Maurer, who assisted Andy Warhol and Frank Stella on their art cars, created his own collection in collaboration with BMW. Stella also bucked the trend when he went on to decorate a BMW M1 Procar outside of the Art Car programme, the only person to have an official and unofficial version. His original car, a 1976 ‘Batmobile’, has a wonderful graph paper design that becomes “interesting when morphed over the car’s form”, said the artist when it was revealed. Stella’s unofficial car was commissioned in 1979 by American racer Peter Gregg and formed part of Stella’s Polar Coordinates suite of works, commemorating his friend, Swedish racing driver Ronnie Peterson who died in an accident at the start of the 1978 Italian Grand Prix. The car was sold by Gregg’s widow in 1990 and donated to the Guggenheim Museum in 1999. It was then sold, in 2011, at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance auction for $854,000 to Jonathan Sobel, an art and car collector who also happens to be a BMW dealer. If an unofficial Art Car was worth around £700,000 six years ago, what does that make an official one worth today? That’s an impossible question to answer – each one is priceless. Besides, they’re not for sale.
s l u x u ry l o n d o n . c o. u k s
What is an official Art Car worth today? Impossible to answer – each one is priceless. Besides, they’re not for sale “They are a collection and won’t be split,” said a BMW spokesperson. “But if you look at the stature of the artists involved in the programme, it’s easy to see why putting a value of them is virtually impossible.” If you’re in the market to invest in Art Cars, the only way to do it is to find some of the models produced by Minichamps for BMW in around 2005. But even that is easier said than done. The 1:18 scale miniatures were made in comparatively small numbers. The early cars were produced in runs of 3,000 while some of the later cars, notably the Jeff Koons 2010 BMW M3 GT2, have a run of 5,000. They’re pricey now. An American model car dealer is currently advertising the BMW 535i Matazo Kayama Art Car at an eBay buy-it-now price of more than £300, while another collector is selling a boxed example of the Andy Warhol M1 at almost £750. Not bad for a toy car. artcar.bmwgroup.com
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