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BMW selects two artists to create M6 GT3 art cars

Whether it's Alexander Calder's 3.0 CSL or Jeff Koons' M3 GT2, BMW has had a role in some of the most beautiful art cars to ever see a racetrack since 1975. For the 40th anniversary of the series, the company will celebrate in the best way possible – making even more of them. Chinese artist Cao Fei and John Baldessari from the US will create two more artistic racers around the new M6 GT3, and after hitting the track, they'll go on display in museums in 2017. An international jury of museum directors and curators selected Cao and Baldessari to create the 18th and 19th art cars, respectively. Born in 1978, Cao is the youngest artist to create one with BMW. She seems to hint at the inspiration for her example in the company's announcement by saying: "Acceleration, a concept that reminds me of my desire for speed as a runner during the Young Pioneers days, is deeply connected to the entangled contemporary relationships between velocity, energy, and the country." Born in 1931, Baldessari will be the oldest person to produce a BMW art car. "This will definitely be my fastest artwork yet," he said in the release. BMW doesn't know yet exactly where either art car would race. "There is a possibility of one or both the [sic] compete in one of the major IMSA WeatherTech series races. However, this has not been decided yet," company spokesperson Thomas Plucinsky told Autoblog. "We expect to see the cars on track in 2017." Both artists have designs in the works but nothing to release yet. However, the gallery above shows some of the earlier creations. The M6 GT3 is BMW's latest racing weapon for customer teams, and it uses a modified 4.4-liter turbocharged V8 with up to 585 horsepower and a six-speed sequential gearbox. It will compete in places like the GTD class of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportCar Championship in the US. Cao Fei and John Baldessari to create the next BMW Art Cars Racing tradition to be continued with the BMW M6 GT3 Munich/New York. Following commissions by Jenny Holzer (1999), Olafur Eliasson (2007) and Jeff Koons (2010), the BMW Art Car series will now be continued. On the occasion of the series' 40th anniversary, a jury of distinguished museum directors and curators chose two internationally renowned artists to design one car each. Chinese artist Cao Fei (*1978) and American artist John Baldessari (*1931) will be the youngest and the oldest artist represented in the collection respectively.

BMW wants world drifting record back in US

BMW just can't stand the thought of the world record for the longest drift winding up in the hands of someone else. The German automaker is set to take a crack at setting a new record by blowing the old one straight out of the water. A driver in China holds the current title after kicking a car sideways for a full 3.6 miles. Now, on May 11, BMW Performance Driving Instructor Johan Schwartz will attempt to pitch a BMW M5 sideways for some 40 miles as part of a stunt to raise funds for the BMW Pro-Am Charity.
We've had the distinct pleasure of riding with the instructors at the BMW facility in South Carolina, and we can tell you that if anyone can keep an M5 at full tilt for 40 miles, it's these guys. BMW has released a teaser video to drum up attention for the stunt. You can catch it below.

2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe is ready for your favorite roads

We've known about the ins and outs of the lovely BMW M6 Gran Coupe for a while now, but that doesn't mean we weren't happy to see the thing in the metal for the first time, here in Detroit.
The M-tuned Gran Coupe utilizes the same 4.4-liter forced-induction V8 that powers both the BMW M6 and the M5, with an output of 560 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque. The fast four-door brings up 60 miles per hour in just 4.1-seconds - the same sprint time as the M6 coupe and a few tenths quicker than the M5 - and up to a limited top speed of 155 mph.
We love those performance figures - this is one new Bimmer that we're amped to get some seat time in - though we're not super crazy about the selection of chrome wheels on this particular show car. Tells us what you think about the hotted up Gran Coupe in comments, below.