The ‘most famous BMW ever’, Warhol’s Pop-Art Racer, gets historic honour

Andy Warhol’s hand-painted BMW M1, which raced at Le Mans in 1979, will go on show at the National Mall in Washington DC as part of the Hagerty Drivers Foundation’s Cars at the Capital exhibition

Andy Warhol’s 1979 BMW M1 ‘Art Car’ has been added to the U.S National Historic Vehicle Register and will go on public display in Washington DC this week.

The pop artist’s hand-painted racing car, created for BMW in 1979, will be shown from 17 to 23 September in a glass pavilion on the National Mall as part of the Hagerty Drivers Foundation’s annual Cars at the Capital exhibition. 

Its documentation will be permanently archived at the Library of Congress, making it the 37th vehicle to receive the designation.

The M1, one of the most celebrated pieces in BMW’s long-running Art Car series, combines both cultural and sporting pedigree. Warhol’s work turned the Group 4 factory racer into a moving canvas, while the car went on to compete at that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 6th overall and 2nd in class. “I attempted to show speed as a visual image,” Warhol later said of the project.

Casey Maxon, director of heritage at the Hagerty Drivers Foundation, called it “arguably the most iconic example in the Art Car series,” representing the intersection of German engineering, Italian design and the influence of American pop art.

The BMW Art Car project began in 1975 when French racing driver and collector Hervé Poulain invited Alexander Calder to paint a BMW 3.0 CSL, which subsequently raced at Le Mans. Since then, artists including Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Jenny Holzer, David Hockney and Ólafur Elíasson have contributed.

The Warhol M1 is currently touring as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Art Car programme, following its US debut alongside Julie Mehretu’s BMW M Hybrid at Pebble Beach in August.

This year’s Cars at the Capital will also feature a Family Day on Saturday 20 September, with activities for children to create their own Warhol-inspired artworks on the Mall. The exhibition is free to attend and is staged close to the Smithsonian museums.

The Hagerty Drivers Foundation, a non-profit founded in 2021, runs the National Historic Vehicle Register as well as providing scholarships and education to preserve automotive culture.

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_{All photos, courtesy Hagerty Drivers Foundation}