The very first BMW Art Car is on display this weekend at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. The 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL was designed by American artist Alexander Calder and is the very first in a series that has now spanned 40 years.
The idea first came about thanks to French art enthusiast and race car driver Hervé Poulain. He got together with then-director of BMW Motorsport Jochen Neerpasch to enlist Alexander Calder to lend his design talents to the car. The end result was this beautiful 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL.
The car wasn’t just for show, but competed in the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans and was driven by both Hervé Poulain and American Sam Posey. The BMW CSL that won the 1975 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the BMW CSL that won the 1976 Daytona 24 Hour race will also be featured in the show.
Another vehicle on display will be the McLaren F1 GTR that made an 8th place finish in the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans. This car, which was driven by Nelson Piquet, Danny Sullivan, and Johnny Cecotto, was powered by an engine designed and built by BMW. It has a 627 hp 6.1-liter V-12 capable of doing 0-60 mph in just 3.2 seconds and boasted a top speed of 231 mph which was a record for the time.
Additional vehicles that are on display by BMW include the BMW i8, the 2015 BMW M4 Coupe, and several classic examples of the BMW 3-Series.
Watch our mashup review of the 2014 Nissan GT-R vs BMW M6…
Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.
