autoevolution
 

Chinese Artist Designs First “Digital” BMW Art Car

A project that started in 1975 from the ambition of a Frenchman, the BMW Art Car story extends beyond the 3.0 CSL Batmobiles and the Andy Warhol-penned M1 Group 4. For the 18th vehicle of the brood, the Bavarian automaker took the challenge to Chinese artist Cao Fei.
BMW M6 GT3 digital Art Car by Cao Fei 9 photos
Photo: BMW
BMW M6 GT3 digital Art Car by Cao FeiBMW M6 GT3 digital Art Car by Cao FeiBMW M6 GT3 digital Art Car by Cao FeiBMW M6 GT3 digital Art Car by Cao FeiBMW M6 GT3 digital Art Car by Cao FeiBMW M6 GT3 digital Art Car by Cao FeiBMW M6 GT3 digital Art Car by Cao FeiBMW M6 GT3 digital Art Car by Cao Fei
Best known in the industry for the works displayed at the Guggenheim Museum and a 20-minute movie called Whose Utopia, Cao delves into themes such as the border between dream and reality. And this gets us to the 18th BMW Art Car, which is not your average M6 GT3. And the only way to admire the vehicle is by embracing virtual reality.

“Cao Fei took the logical step of creating the first ever digital Art Car,”
commented Jens Marquardt, the head honcho of BMW’s Motorsport division. “The augmented reality experience makes this BMW M6 GT3 unique.” Yup, you’ve heard the man just right.

To be raced in naked carbon fiber livery on the streets of Macau by factory driver Augusto Farfus, the M6 GT3 Art Car's design can only be seen in the virtual world. “Creative” is a bit of a euphemism on this particular occasion.

The top model in the Bavarian automaker’s customer racing lineup since 2016, the M6 GT3 tips the scales at under 1,300 kilograms without the driver. Under the hood, you’ll find a 4.4-liter M TwinPower Turbo V8 based on the S63 production engine.

Depending on classification, engineers can tune the eight-cylinder mill to produce up to 585 horsepower, which equates to a top speed of approximately 280 km/h. As expected from a full-on racecar, the M6 GT3 employs a sequential transmission and high-performance motorsport electronics.

“It’s a huge honor for me to race Cao Fei’s BMW Art Car, the 18th member of the BMW Art Car Collection,” said works driver Augusto Farfus. “I’m really looking forward to diving deeper into this project and learning more about the artist’s ideas and her philosophy behind it.”
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories