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24H Backstage | 24h-lemans.com

In 1999, BMW Art Cars entered the prototypes era and American artist Jenny Holtzer transformed the BMW V12 LMR into a rolling political declaration. Through to striking slogans, chrome lettering and fluorescent overlays, the car itself became a message, and its speed a medium for reflection at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The&nbsp;BMW V12 LMR Art Car decorated by Jenny Holzer, commissioned during prequalifying at the 1999&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans, represented a new&nbsp;form of expression in the&nbsp;BMW Art Car series. On the V12&nbsp;prototype (top speed of&nbsp;340 kph), the artiste inscribed famous phrases from the&nbsp;Truisms&nbsp;and&nbsp;Survival&nbsp;series, transforming the racing car into a textual and political work of art.

<h2>Jenny Holzer, When an Art Car delivers a&nbsp;message</h2>

Known for her works projected onto urban facades and monuments, Holzer brought a unique dimension to the BMW Art Car saga in 1999.&nbsp;Her weapon of expression: words. Her goal: to provoke thought. On the BMW V12 LMR&#39;s body, she applied statements in reflective chrome lettering&nbsp;and fluorescent overlays to challenge the viewer directly:

<ul>
	<li>Protect me from what I want</li>
	<li>Lack of charisma can be fatal</li>
	<li>The unattainable is invariably attractive</li>
	<li>Monomania is a prerequisite of success</li>
	<li>You are so complex you don&rsquo;t respond to danger</li>
</ul>

Working in a male-dominated field, she&nbsp;stood up for what she believed. Jenny Holzer:&nbsp;I thought it would be nice if women could participate in ways other than just standing around in bikinis.&nbsp;Thanks to&nbsp;Holzer, this Art Car became&nbsp;a work of art, a social message&nbsp;and a feminist manifesto all in one.

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<h2>BMW V12 LMR: Winning&nbsp;prototype at the 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans</h2>

The&nbsp;BMW V12 LMR represented the peak of endurance racing&nbsp;technology at the end of the 1990s with a&nbsp;nearly 6-litre V12 engine, 580 hp&nbsp;and a top speed of 340 kph and was designed&nbsp;to conquer the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1999, three V12 LMRs were entered by BMW in prequalifying. The #16 Art Car decorated by Jenny Holzer&nbsp;was entrusted to Joachim Winkelhock and Tom Kristensen.

The car&#39;s performance did not disappoint, qualifying in seventh position with a time of&nbsp;3:34.493 and&nbsp;showing real potential for the big race. Unfortunately, BMW&#39;s sporting strategy required withdrawing the Art Car to focus&nbsp;its efforts on the two other official prototypes.

Though Holzer&#39;s&nbsp;BMW V12 LMR did not take the start in the 1999&nbsp;24 Hours, it left a lasting impression in Art Car history. Twist of fate:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/24-hours-of-le-mans-bmws-astonishing-1999-v12-lmr-56547" target="_blank">the #15 BMW sister car</a>&nbsp;driven by&nbsp;Joachim Winkelhock, Pierluigi Martini and&nbsp;Yannick Dalmas won that&nbsp;67th running of the race.

Thanks to Holzer&#39;s V12 LMR, BMW&#39;s Art Cars saga entered a new chapter. Artistic expression&nbsp;was no longer limited&nbsp;to colour or form: it questioned and challenged, all at more than&nbsp;300 kph. Even without having participated the race, this Art Car remains one of the most conceptual in the history of Le Mans.

To celebrate R&eacute;tromobile&#39;s 50th anniversary and the half-century mark of BMW Art Cars, the&nbsp;2026 show will present a special exhibition in France from 28 January&nbsp;to 1 February. The seven BMW Art Cars seen at&nbsp;the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be brought together at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, including none other than&nbsp;Jenny Holzer&#39;s BMW V12 LMR.

BMW Art Cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – BMW V12 LMR Jenny Holzer: the Art Car manifesto

In 1979, a BMW M1 sporting a livery designed by Andy Warhol took the start in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A Pop Art masterpiece was applied directly to the bodywork, inspiring an impressive performance and remarkable result in the race. Consequently, this Art Car has become one of the most famous and valuable racing cars in motorsport history.

Entered in the 1979 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans by&nbsp;Herv&eacute; Poulain, the&nbsp;BMW M1 decorated by&nbsp;Andy Warhol embodied speed, performance and art. After finishing sixth overall, the car emerged as the quintessential Art Car of the BMW era.

<h2>Andy Warhol: the Pop Art Pioneer Takes on a Racing Car</h2>

Born in&nbsp;Pittsburgh in 1928, Warhol&nbsp;trained in advertising graphic design before revolutionising contemporary art at The Factory, his&nbsp;studio in New York City. He transformed everyday objects and popular icons into works of art. In 1979, BMW entrusted its fourth Art Car to Warhol.&nbsp;Like his predecessors, he&nbsp;received no payment, but&nbsp;unlike the other artists, he refused to&nbsp;settle for a scale model, painting&nbsp;the car himself&nbsp;directly onto the bodywork.

Andy Warhol:&nbsp;I have tried to show speed as a visual image. When an automobile is really traveling fast, all the lines and colors are transformed into a blur.&nbsp;In just 28 minutes, he applied nearly 6 kg of paint, transforming the&nbsp;BMW M1&nbsp;into a vibrant and destinctive canvas.

The #76&nbsp;BMW M1 fielded in the IMSA category was shared by&nbsp;Herv&eacute; Poulain, Marcel Mignot and&nbsp;Manfred Winkelhock. After qualifying 23rd, the car&nbsp;proved its&nbsp;potential during the race, reaching the chequered flag in sixth place overall and securing one of the top results for any BMW Art Car ever at the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans.

Herv&eacute; Poulain: I was expecting a livery based on Marilyn Monroe and cans of soup.&nbsp;Instead, Andy Warhol was most interested in the mixing of the colours.&nbsp;He wondered which colour would prevail over another at 300 kph.

An extraordinary&nbsp;work of art, an authentic racing car and a&nbsp;Pop Art emblem: the&nbsp;Andy Warhol BMW M1 transcended the&nbsp;status of&nbsp;mere machine to claim&nbsp;definitively&nbsp;its role in the legacy of the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le Mans.

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BMW Art Cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – BMW M1 Andy Warhol: absolute icon

Last year, Ford Racing announced its return to the top tier of the endurance discipline. Today, the team has provided more details concerning its Hypercar programme.

Ford Racing steps up the pace in preparation for the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans and FIA World Endurance Championship. Having publicised its intentions to enter <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/ford-in-the-top-class-at-the-24-hours-of-le-mans-in-2027-59293" target="_blank">a Hypercar entry</a>&nbsp;in January 2025, the American manufacturer spent a year putting together its programme, posing the technical foundations and forming a team. Now, twelve months later, the marque has revealed the scope of its campaign and the philosophy behind it.

The Ford Hypercar will be powered by a naturally-aspirated 5.4-litre &lsquo;Coyote&rsquo; V8 engine entirely developed inhouse and based on its Dark Horse R, GT4 and GT3 powerplants. The strategy is presented as a nod to Ford&rsquo;s glorious past at Le Mans, in particular the historic 1966 victory. According to the press release, the Dearborn team has been working with Red Bull Ford Powertrains to &ldquo;marry high-voltage technology to raw, Detroit-born power.&rdquo;

<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/ford-partners-with-oreca-for-hypercar-programme-launching-in-2027-59768" target="_blank">Ford has elected to use an Oreca chassis</a>. The aim is clear: to build a Hypercar capable of winning WEC races in its first season, 24 Hours of Le Mans included.

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<h2>Preparation in real conditions</h2>

Three drivers have already been named: Sebastian Priaulx, Mike Rockenfeller and Logan Sargeant. The first two are already members of the Ford family. In 2025 they drove the <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/ford-mustang-gt3-a-major-evolution-introduced-for-2026-60189" target="_blank">Mustang GT3</a>&nbsp;to victory in two rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (in 2010 with Audi) Mike Rockenfeller brings precious experience to the campaign.

As for Logan Sargeant, with 36 Formula One races to his name, he brings technical expertise and solid experience of racing single-seaters with high downforce &ndash; a great advantage in Hypercar development. An American driver at the wheel of a Ford at Le Mans is symbolic, and reminiscent of icons Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt.

Sebastian Priaulx and Mike Rockenfeller will take part in the European Le Mans Series 2026 in LMP2. The goal is to build up a methodology, refine procedures and garner operational experience ahead of the Hypercar entry. Ford is likely to turn to Proton Competition and its Oreca 07-Gibson for support. Ford Racing&rsquo;s hypercar programme manager Dan Sayers summarises the learning phase as a way of taking: &ldquo;the building blocks of this programme and stress-test them under the most demanding conditions on the planet.&nbsp;We are building more than just a car; we are building a legacy. We are reclaiming our seat at the top table of endurance racing. We are America&rsquo;s Race Team, and we are coming for the world.&rdquo;

Ford Racing is well and truly on the way back to the top tier of endurance. The next stage is no doubt the unveiling of the Hypercar ahead of the first track tests this summer.

Ford Racing has announced details of its Hypercar programme

New season. New name. New car. Toyota entering the 2026 FIA WEC season as TOYOTA RACING with this beast, the upgraded #TR010HYBRID Hypercar.

TR010 HYBRID Unveiling video

The evolution of the Mustang GT3 harnesses the unmistakable spirit of an American Icon and 60-plus years of rich racing heritage. It returns to grids worldwide in 2026 — sharpened, unbridled and ready to win.

The Evolution of Mustang GT3 | Ford Racing

Short highlights of the second race of the 2025/26 Asian Le Mans Series in Malaysia on Sunday 14 December

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BMW Art Cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – BMW V12 LMR Jenny Holzer: the Art Car manifesto

BMW Art Cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – BMW M1 Andy Warhol: absolute icon

Ford Racing has announced details of its Hypercar programme

TR010 HYBRID Unveiling video

The Evolution of Mustang GT3 | Ford Racing

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