But BMW has chosen
to take their collection of art cars, each with its own distinct livery and
never before displayed in the UK, to the apt setting of an unremarkable grey
NCP in Shoreditch, east London for a free show.
The centrepiece of
the exhibition, a joint venture between the London 2012 Festival, the Institute
of Contemporary Art and the German car manufacturer, is a striking BMW M1 model
painted by the late Andy Warhol in 1977.
The legendary
artist took a mere 23 minutes to cover the Group 4 racing car, which went on to
race at the 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race in 1979, finishing second in its
class and sixth overall.
BMW is unlikely to
part company with the Warhol, despite the pop artist's touch making it one of
the world's most valuable cars.
Warhol, whose works
fetch upwards of £40 million at auction, described his inspiration for the
design by saying: 'I tried to portray speed pictorially. If a car is moving
really quickly, all the lines and colors are blurred.'
BMW has
commissioned 17 art cars since 1975, when French racing driver and auctioneer
Herve Poulain persuaded his friend Alexander Calder to come up with a design
for a BMW 3.0 CSL ahead of competing at Le Mans.
The result of the
original art car is also on show in the unusual makeshift gallery alongside
works by Robert Rauschenberg, Jeff Koons, Frank Stella, Ernst Fuchs, M.J.
Nelson, Ken Done, Matazo Kayama, César Manrique, A.R. Penck, Esther Mahlangu,
Sandro Chia and Jenny Holzer.