Cover Jeff Koons is a long-time fan of BMW (Photo: Courtesy of BMW)
Jeff Koons is a long-time fan of BMW (Photo: Courtesy of BMW)
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World renowned artist Jeff Koons and BMW come together to create a graphic car, designed with the road in mind
Tasked with creating his “dream car”, Jeff Koons has taken the BMW M850i xDrive Gran Coupé and transformed it into a rolling piece of pop art. Known for his tongue-in-cheek paintings and sculptures, the renowned American artist used his favourite 8 Series as a canvas for this limited-edition project.
Koons is a long-time fan of BMW, dating back to the 1980s when he drove a 7 Series while living in Munich. The artist has previously created an Art Car for the brand: the BMW M3 GT2, which went on to race for BMW Motorsport at Le Mans 24 Hours in 2010.
In his latest collaboration with the storied carmaker, Koons created a geometric design that blends perfectly with the elegant contours of the 8 Series Gran Coupé. The word “Pop!” appears on both rear doors, and animation-style puffs of wind on the front doors hint at the car’s intended use. While there’s no denying its collectible potential—only 99 units have been produced, one of which is currently in Hong Kong—BMW and Koons are adamant that the special edition is designed to be driven.
The word “Pop!” appears on both rear doors (Photo: Courtesy of BMW)
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“I can’t wait to drive it and ride in it; I hope that people will enjoy the Gran Coupé just as much as I do,” the artist said. “For the driver and all passengers, there is a heightened state of pleasure. This is what my car has to offer.”
Those lucky enough to find themselves behind the wheel will be treated to a typically plush interior featuring the finest leather in cartoon-inspired shades of red and blue in keeping with the exterior palette. Eagle-eyed drivers and passengers will also notice the artist’s signature scrawled artfully on the central cupholder—just one of many fine details that back up BMW CEO Oliver Zipse’s claim that: “Never before in the history of our company has a BMW been created with such an extensive design effort as the 8 x Jeff Koons.”
It’s certainly a bold claim, but given that the exterior paint job alone took 200 hours of painstaking manual labour, with colour being applied under the scrutiny of a magnifying glass, it’s fair to say that BMW and Koons went all out to create this piece of high-octane art.
