The 1st BMW Art Car

Getting artists to design cars, and then racing those cars, was the idea of auctioneer and racing driver Hervé Poulain and the BMW Motorsport Director Jochen Neerpasch. The first artist Poulain asked was none other than Alexander Calder, the renowned inventor of kinetic sculptures - those colourful shapes known today as "mobiles". Calder, then aged 77, understood at once, agreed, and promptly came up with a design for the BMW 3.0 CSL, patterned in red, yellow, blue, and white, making it the world's first BMW Art Car. This gaudy masterpiece was the star of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1975. Calder himself was enthused: "The entire press - not just the art press, but the sports press, too - chose our car as their favourite at Le Mans, because it was beautiful to look at, playful, and thereby remarkably efficient. Can you imagine that?!"

Alexander Calder (1898-1976) was an American sculptor and artist and is regarded as one of the most influential exponents of Classical Modernism. Calder began his career as an engineer before turning to art, having been inspired by the European avant-garde - particularly Piet Mondrian and Joan Miró. His most famous works are his mobiles - light, free-moving sculptures that are set in motion by air currents or electric motors - and his static, often-monumental metal sculptures known as "stabiles". Calder's works can be found worldwide in many leading museums and collections. He died in New York City, where he had lived and worked, at the age of 78.

In 1975, Alexander Calder's Art Car was driven at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by a team comprising Sam Posey (USA), Jean Guichet (FR), and Hervé Poulain (FR). It was the first and only time that the car was raced. The car was forced to drop out of the race after seven hours due to a defective prop shaft, and it has been on display ever since.