IMSA: BMW reveals new GTLM Art Car

BMW unveiled its 19th Art Car on Wednesday.

The M6 GTLM, featuring the minimalist stylings of American artist John Baldessari, will compete in January's Rolex 24 at Daytona as part of BMW Team RLL's two-car effort in IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. 

"I have done only one work in my life involving a car before, and that was an image of a car," Baldessari said. "So for the BMW Art Car project, I entered uncharted territory, not just in terms of the subject, but also moving from two- to three-dimensional art. A challenge I did enjoy! The ideas all came at once: for instance, the red dot on the roof, so you can see it from above, FAST on one side and a picture of the car on the other side. I like the ambiguity, having two-dimension and three-dimension at the same time. Considering the car as an icon of contemporary life, my concept turned out playfully satirical, but it also highlights some of the trademark ideas that I use. So you can say, the BMW Art Car is definitely a typical Baldessari and the fastest artwork I ever created!"

The twin-turbo V8-powered German race car, bearing the names of factory drivers Bill Auberlen, Alexander Sims, Augusto Farfus and Bruno Spengler, follows the BMW M3 GT2 Art Car painted by Jeff Koonz.

Piloted by Andy Priaulx, Dirk Müller and Dirk Werner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2010, the car (pictured below) finished 16th in class.