When a car becomes a canvas for the best artists of the era, it's not tuning, but history. As part of the world tour for the 50th anniversary of the BMW Art Cars project, an exhibition has been opened in Denmark, which is already being called the largest in Northern Europe. This is not just an exhibition of cars, but a slice of modern culture, where metal and paint tell of a change of eras.
Half a century of art on wheels
The BMW Art Cars project started in 1975 on the initiative of French auctioneer and racer Hervé Poulain. Since then, the company has attracted the biggest names in the art world to turn sports and production models into unique objects. From March 27 to June 21, 2026, 11 iconic cars are on display at the Classic Car House (CCH) museum in Lyngby, north of Copenhagen.
Photo: BMW Group
The exhibition covers almost the entire history of the series. Here you can see both early works, such as the BMW 3.0 CSL by Frank Stella from 1976, and modern objects like the BMW M3 GT2 by Jeff Koons. Special emphasis is placed on the 1990s, represented by six cars, including the elegant 850 CSi by David Hockney and Z1 by A.R. Penck.
Complete list of exhibits in Lyngby:
- Frank Stella, BMW 3.0 CSL (1976)
- Roy Lichtenstein, BMW 320 Group 5 (1977)
- Andy Warhol, BMW M1 (1979)
- Michael Jagamara Nelson, BMW M3 Group A (1989)
- César Manrique, BMW 730i (1990)
- A.R. Penck, BMW Z1 (1991)
- Esther Mahlangu, BMW 525i (1991)
- Sandro Chia, BMW M3 GTR (1993)
- David Hockney, BMW 850 CSi (1995)
- Jenny Holzer, BMW V12 LMR (1999)
- Jeff Koons, BMW M3 GT2 (2010)
Photo: BMW Group
Behind the scenes of creativity: models and sketches
In addition to full-size cars, BMW exhibited ten original models for the first time. These are scale models that the artists used as sketches before transferring their ideas to real metal. For brand fans, this is perhaps the most interesting part of the exhibition, as here you can see a rare camouflaged M1 version by Andy Warhol, which was rarely shown to the public before.
These models allow you to trace the evolution of thought of masters such as Alexander Calder, Robert Rauschenberg, and Julie Mehretu. The latter, by the way, created her art car quite recently, in 2024.
Scale models of future art cars. Photo: BMW Group
The stop at Classic Car House is one of the last stages of the world tour. The jubilee series will conclude in August 2026 with a grand exhibition in Munich, where all existing brand art cars are to be gathered. But for residents and guests of Scandinavia, the Danish event is the best chance to see the collection live without unnecessary crowds.
