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First BMW ‘Batmobile’ competition Art Car coming to Amelia Island Concours

BMW "Batmobile" class at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance on March 9, 2014. Photo courtesy of BMW

The first BMW Art Car ever created, a 3.0 CSL GT racer painted by the acclaimed artist Alexander Calder to run in the 1975 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will headline a special BMW “Batmobile” class at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance on March 9, 2014.

The Calder project, which melded motorsports with fine art, was inspired by French race driver and art auctioneer Herve Poulain. BMW race cars used as painting canvases by the world’s most-renowned artists – including Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol – became an annual tradition for the German automaker.

Driven by Sam Posey, the 1975 Batmobile qualified first in its class and 11th overall as it carried Calder’s colors through the world’s most famous endurance race. A driveline failure ended its race early, but not before BMW had made a major impression on both the art and the racing worlds.

BMW’s groundbreaking Batmobiles presented fans with a new kind of all-out road racing and marketing during the mid-1970s. The 19th annual Amelia Island Concours will present a number of these historic cars in its special Batmobile class.

For more information about the Amelia Island Concours, see ameliaconcours.org.

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