BMW Art Cars Go Digital – BMW of Elmhurst Dealer

BMW brings its world-famous BMW Art Car collection into the digital realm for the first time as part of a partnership with art app Acute Art. The Art Cars will be presented in augmented reality (AR), thanks to Acute Art. The first 10 BMW Art Cars were launched in the Acute Art platform on July 21, 2021. This will be followed by nine cars, which will appear every two weeks until all 19 BMW Art Cars are displayed in the app. At BMW of Elmhurst, we’re intrigued by BMW’s use of cutting-edge technology to make the Art Car collection available throughout the world digitally.

The genesis of the BMW Art Car collection came when French race car driver and art aficionado Hervé Poulain asked Alexander Calder to design his BMW 3.0 CSL race car in 1975. Eighteen more world-famous artists have used their artistic sensibilities to create unique work on BMW’s most iconic models.

To realize the virtual Art Car project, the cars were scanned from different angles using a unique photographic process that captures all the details of the art on each vehicle’s surface. Acute Art’s exclusive technology enables the digitally reproduced Art Cars to be staged virtually wherever a user likes in a 360-degree AR presentation.

The first Art Cars to appear in the app include:

• Alexander Calder (BMW 3.0 CSL, 1975)
• Michael Jagamara Nelson (BMW M3, 1989)
• Ken Done (BMW M3, 1989)
• Matazo Kayama (BMW 535i, 1990)
• Esther Mahlangu (BMW 525i, 1991
• Jeff Koons (BMW M3 GT2, 2010)
• John Baldessari (BMW M6 GTLM, 2016).

Future BMW Art Cars will appear in the Acute Art app every two weeks. The app is available free of charge in the Apple App Store and Google Play.

“The BMW Art Cars are an essential part of the DNA of BMW’s 50-year-long cultural engagement,” said Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “Finally, they are entering the digital realm and can be accessible everywhere and for everyone. I am excited about the collaboration with Acute Art as we both strive for innovation and cutting-edge technology.”