Article Summary
- The BMW Welt is showcasing all 20 Art Cars through August 31, daily from 9 AM to 6 PM.
- Admission is free, while 30-minute guided tours cost €12.
- Can’t make it to Munich? The Artlas smartphone app offers an in-depth look at the BMW Art Cars.
Possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, all 20 Art Cars are together under the same roof at the BMW Welt. A monumental logistical effort made it possible for the German luxury automaker to bring these rolling art pieces together for the first time. The whole group is there, from Alexander Calder’s original 3.0 CSL from 1975 to Julie Mehretu’s M Hybrid V8 from 2024.
You have until the end of August to discover all of them at the BMW Welt, and it won’t cost you a dime. For just €12, visitors can take part in a 30-minute guided tour for groups of up to 15 people. You might want to book a slot sooner rather than later because the available slots in the BMW Welt’s Ticket Shop are running out fast.
If you can’t make it to the BMW Welt, the Artlas smartphone app serves as the next best thing. Available in 25 languages, the software was developed specifically for the special exhibition. It includes everything from brief presentations to in-depth background information for diehard aficionados. Because we’re living in 2026 and artificial intelligence surrounds us, the app also has an AI assistant should you have any questions.
Attached at the bottom is the full list of all 20 BMW Art Cars, and we’re wondering which one will be the 21st. Looking back, it’s clear that motorsport has been a recurring theme, as nearly all official Art Cars have stemmed from racing. Should the next one continue the theme, it would make sense to base it on the next-generation M3.
Which Will Be The Next BMW Art Car?
The time will inevitably come for an electric Art Car, but it’s too soon to say whether the M3 ZA0 will be the first. Previewed by the M Concept Neue Klasse, the first full M car without a combustion engine launches next year. A six-cylinder model, codenamed G84, will follow at some point in 2028. Of course, the next BMW Art Car doesn’t necessarily have to be M3-related.
That said, imagine the impact it would have and the controversy it would likely stir if the ZA0 were elected as the next BMW Art Car. Some would argue that it’s the natural step to take, given how the most recent project was already partially electrified. Purists would disagree and favor a gas engine instead, which still has a long life ahead, as the inline-six and V8 will live on after the M division tweaked both for Euro 7.
Not all of them have carried M badging, opening the possibility for other candidates to get the Art Car treatment. Not knowing which one is next makes the wait even more interesting.
- Alexander Calder / BMW 3.0 CSL / 1975
- Frank Stella / BMW 3.0 CSL / 1976
- Roy Lichtenstein / BMW 320i Turbo / 1977
- Andy Warhol / BMW M1 / 1979
- Ernst Fuchs / BMW 635 CSi / 1982
- Robert Rauschenberg / BMW 635 CSi / 1986
- Michael Nelson Jagamara / BMW M3 Group A / 1989
- Ken Done / BMW M3 Group A / 1989
- Matazo Kayama / BMW 535i / 1990
- César Manrique / BMW 730i / 1990
- AR Penck / BMW Z1 / 1991
- Esther Mahlangu / BMW 525i / 1991
- Sandro Chia / BMW M3 GTR / 1992
- David Hockney / BMW 850 CSi / 1995
- Jenny Holzer / BMW V12 LMR / 1999
- Olafur Eliasson / BMW H2R / 2007
- Jeff Koons / BMW M3 GT2 / 2010
- Cao Fei / BMW M6 GT3 / 2017
- John Baldessari / BMW M6 GTLM / 2016
- Julie Mehretu / BMW M Hybrid V8 / 2024
