It’s been 40 years since Andy Warhol put a paint brush to that BMW M1 Procar, creating what many consider to be the greatest of all BMW Art Cars and one of the most daring examples of automotive creativity. This M1’s history is therefore immense, what with its exterior having been finished by one of the most respected artists of the 20th century. Not to mention the fact that it wore his design of vivid, hand-painted colours to finish second in class at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It helps, too, that the M1 itself remains one of the most evocative BMWs to have ever been produced, with motorsport in its homologated veins and an unforgettable six-cylinder soundtrack produced by its mid-mounted, 470hp 3.5-litre. Let us refer you to that onboard video from a Time for Coffee post from back in March for a full demonstration to jog any blurred memories…
In the run up to Art Car Number Four’s 40-year milestone, BMW called for photographers to capture their best images of the racer. The winning portfolio comes from 29-year-old snapper Stephan Bauer, who parked the M1 in an abandoned factory in Cologne to take these spectacular images. The light, the shadows and the atmosphere captured with all that mist all serves to further accentuate the dramatic design of this gorgeous Procar. We dare you not to want one of the three images supplied here on your desktop background…
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