Alexander Calder, David Hockney, Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons – the list of artists who previously ‘transformed’ a BMW into an art piece in the last 40 years could not be more impressive. For the 19th Art Car, BMW chose the great pioneer and master of American conceptual art, John Baldessari. His M6 GTLM is unusually minimalist for an Art Car, and toys with the idea of using a racer as an advertising medium. Like many of the Art Cars that precede it, the 585HP Baldessari-designed BMW must prove itself on the racetrack, with its competition debut planned for January 2017 as part of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“I have done only one work in my life involving a car before, and that was an image of a car," commented Baldessari at the car’s Miami Beach reveal. “So for the Art Car project, I entered uncharted territory, not just in terms of the subject, but also moving from two- to three-dimensional art. Considering the car as an icon of contemporary life, my concept turned out playfully satirical, but it also highlights some of the trademark ideas that I use. So you can say, this BMW Art Car is definitely a typical Baldessari, and the fastest artwork I have ever created.”