The BMW M1 hand-painted by Andy Warhol

BMW Art Cars are exactly what the name implies: BMW automobiles painted in custom liveries by some of the greatest artists of the 20th and 21st century. The first Art Car, a 1975 3.0 CSL, was painted by artist Alexander Calder at the request of French racer Herve Poulain, and interest in the car prompted BMW to continue the project.

Since 1975, a total of 16 art cars have been crafted by artists such as Jeff Koons, A.R. Penck, Robert Rauschenberg, Ernst Fuchs, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. Warhol’s car, a 1974 BMW M1 Group 4 racer, was brush-painted by the artist himself (in around half an hour), and BMW has refused offers as high as $60 million for the car.

In conjunction with the London 2012 Olympics and Festival London, selections from BMW’s Art Car collection were displayed at an ordinary (but security-enhanced) parking garage in Shoreditch, London. We missed our chance to attend, so here’s the next best thing – a video on the Art Car collection, narrated by Edmund’s Alistair Weaver. Enjoy.