For decades, so-called Art Cars have been built from time to time, which fascinate, irritate or even encourage to buy - depending on taste. And wallet of course. Some of the "art cars" actually drive from the gallery to the garage. Five silver, gold, colorful examples.
At least according to their self-image, many car designers are real artists. But sometimes they apparently need a kick for their creativity and are therefore now getting more or less famous partners from fashion or painting on board, like Mercedes Chief Creative Officer Gorden Wagener with the "Mondo G" project with the fashion label Moncler for the fashion show in London.
For decades, so-called Art Cars have been created in this way, which, depending on taste, fascinate, irritate or, in the best case, even arouse the temptation to buy. Because some of them even make it from the gallery into the garage.
The youngest car in this category has now been unveiled at London Fashion Week and is based on the Mercedes G-Class. Originally developed for the mud, the square from Graz is making fashion for it and has it dressed by the high-tech label Moncler. While the SUV's aged convertible proudly wears its rough edges and has become a little dull over the years, the creatives have fitted shimmering silver balloon tires and replaced the hood with a huge, cloud-soft and prettily fluffy anorak with that puffer pattern, the Moncler - makes jackets a must-have in St. Moritz, Kitzbühel or Aspen.
Of course, the concept is not new. Because a few years ago, Gorden Wagener teamed up with the fashion designer Virgil Abloh and also designed a very special G-Class before the two built their very own SUV coupe for Maybach. After the unexpected death of the designer at the end of 2021 thwarted further projects, fashion and Mercedes fans can hope for more this time, says Sales Director Britta Seeger: "The first collaboration with Moncler opens up new horizons and a potential for more innovations that will follow soon."
Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons - anyone who is self-respecting in the art scene has not only painted canvas or concrete, but also the body of a BMW. Because hardly any other manufacturer has launched as many Art Cars as Bayern.
However, the idea for this did not come from the company, but from the French racing driver Hervé Poulain, who hoped to attract more attention in the starting field of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and had his BMW 3.0 CSL painted by the American sculptor Alexander Calder in 1975. Although start number 93 did not reach the finish line, the response to the colorful Calder mobile was outstanding and the raging one-off became a routine that to this day regularly excites racing drivers, the art scene and petrolheads.
Its installation was not exactly a declaration of love for the car. Because when the performance artist HA Schult distributed eleven artistically alienated Fiesta in the city area in spring 1989 under the leitmotif "Fetish Car", it was definitely to be understood as criticism of the cult surrounding the golden calf. And despite that, or maybe because of that, he got a lot of attention, which could only be good for Ford. Finally, the action coincided with the debut of the third generation of the Cologne small car.
The Fiesta flew around the cathedral, sailed on the Rhine and parked in front of the factory in a marble look. But what stuck in my head was the golden painted example with five meter wings that was parked on the stack house in Cologne's old town. While the other small car works of art went to museums and collectors all over the world after the campaign, the "Golden Bird" has only been implemented, has been enthroned over the city with short interruptions for more than 30 years and is now one of the most famous monuments in Cologne. As such, it will probably even outlast the Fiesta. Because while the work of art has its place in the skyline for eternity, the production of the small car will inevitably come to an end this summer.
When Jeremy Scott does something, he does it right. Or at least in such a way that everyone is watching. Because shortly after the enfant terrible of the US pop art and fashion scene put Lady Gaga in a dress made of meat rags, he also tackled the Smart in autumn 2011. For the auto show in Los Angeles, he literally gave the bonsai Benz wings: huge wings with red-hot feathers adorn the rear of the "Forjeremy" study, which even steals the show from Hollywood stars on the Walk of Fame.
And the plumage is far from everything. In order to increase the glamor factor a little, Scott had the safety cell and the most important add-on parts of the matt white car chrome-plated and also designed a few nice contrasts on the inside. The trade fair car has remained a one-off that is now parked somewhere in the Stuttgart museum garage. But with clipped wings and the blessing of the registration authorities, the tiny car was also delivered to customers in a small series the following year.
Once is never, they apparently thought at BMW and commissioned pop art artist Jeff Koons with an art car for the second time last year. Unlike the 2010 M3 GT2, Koons' latest artifact isn't a race car but is based on an 850 Gran Coupe. And instead of building it just once, BMW put 99 copies of the hip flask designed in bright comic colors on the wheels in just under 300 hours of additional manual work.
Although the price of 350,000 euros was almost three times higher than that of the series model, it didn't hurt its success: the small series was sold out in no time - and could prove to be a good investment. After all, a Koons sculpture fetched a whopping $91 million in May 2019 and has since been considered the most expensive work by a living artist.
