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In 1977 Roy Lichtenstein turned a BMW 320i into a piece of his art that was driven by Poulain and Mignot at Le Mans 24-hour race and finished 9th overall and first in class.

When Lichtenstein was drafting his Art Car, he spent a long time thinking about all the things that happen to a car.

The result of this critical examination of the car is an amazing blend of aerodynamic qualities on the one hand and artistic skill on the other.

BMW 320i E21 Group 5 race car - ar car by Roy Lichtenstein 1977 photo gallery

When Lichtenstein created the third BMW Art Car, he said he used "painted lines as a road, pointing the way for the car. The design also shows the scenery as it passes by. Even the sky and sunlight are to been seen....you could list all the things a car experiences - the only difference is that this car mirrors all these things even before it takes to the road ."

Taking a closer look, the car's design casts a picture of passing scenery in which both the car and its movement are one single entity.

And although Lichtenstein's comic art was already a thing of the past by then, his Art Car is clearly influenced by it: the long-drawn colored strips act as "speedlines" - a feature used in comics to suggest speed.

Even the oversized dots used by Lichtenstein, the "Benday dots", are reminiscent of his famous comic-strip pictures.

The harmony achieved between predetermined aerodynamic features and free composition is pure Lichtenstein. It is an expression of his artistic credo: art must be an element of everyday life - its themes and inspiration must come from the lives of ordinary people.

Source: BMW Group

Roy Lichtenstein - The Artist

Though best known as a painter, American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein also devoted his artistic career to creating sculptural, three-dimensional objects.

This compelling new exhibition includes 100 sculptures and three-dimensional maquettes or models, the earliest of which are figural carvings and assemblages dating from the mid-1940s and 1950s, and latest of which is his last personally finished sculpture: the monumental House II, seen only at the Venice Biennale in 1997.

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