25 Amazingly Creative Art Cars

Thirty-Five years ago Hervé Poulain and Alexander Calder started a movement. Together they created the first BMW art car, blending artistic excellence with what they considered a symbol of perfection. That car participated in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1975 and set into motion a tradition that is stronger than ever today.

But BMW isn't the only player in the art car world anymore. Not even close. Tens of manufacturers, individuals, and even dealership owners have recruited artists to create something special and unique to draw attention for one reason or another. We poked around and found some of our favorites, including a McLaren F1, an invisible car, and a ferocious Scion iQ. These are 25 Amazingly Creative Art Cars.

Artist: Romero Britto

In 2008 the RS4 cost $67,000. With a new A4 on the way, a dealership in Miami needed a way to attract some attention and help move the RS4s off the lot. So, he had Britto pull out his paint brush and let his imagination move his thoughts right onto the exterior of the Audi. The problem is this car's price point went way, way up after the new look.

Artist: Ian Cook AKA Pop Bang Colour

The Bugarti design, the first of its kind on a Veyron, was put together by an artist who goes by Pop Bang Colour and was showcased at this year's Wilton Classic and Supercar Festival on August 5th. Maybe next time they'll just string up a bunch of paint balloons and have the Veyron fly through, splattering the art all over it's extremely sleek exterior.

Artist: César

The facts that the McLaren F1 is the greatest supercar of all time and one of the most important automotive creations in the history of four-wheeled movement still doesn't keep it exempt from the pen of an artist. The car later grabbed $3,000,000 in an auction.

Artist: Francoise Nielly

Not that the extremely attractive Survolt needed any dressing up, but Citroën paired up with French artist Nielly to create this one-of-a-kind version of a concept that was already super rare.

Artist: Laurence Gartel

Believe it or not, those bright colors aren't actually paint. They are the result of a digitally designed vinyl, created by digital media master Mr. Laurence Gartel. He believes art can enhance anything, and others agreed, valuing this 'Rari at nearly $1,000,000 with the wrap. This isn't the last time you'll see this name on this list.

Artist: Student Artists at The School of Visual Arts in New York

Jason Vuic, an artist out of New York, was able to purchase 34 Yugos for $92 each. Ninety. Two. Dollars. For a car. He then took those cars, gave them to student artists and let them ooze expressive juices all over them. The result? A mini duck shooting range, a Yugophone, and a bunch of other weird creations.

Artist: Sara Watson

Sometimes the coolest treatment to a piece is making it disappear completely. This 22-year-old used a donated car and recycled it by spray painting it into an invisible art form. The Felicia only took about three weeks to complete.

Artist: Louise Dear

The "Because I Can" MiTo was created as a showcase for the economical 1.3 JDTM-2 engine. Inspiration for the floral paint arrangement came to artist Dear in the form of her 17-year-old daughter and the company's history.

Artist: Lyken, FiST, Syrkus, Rue 5, Death Rattles and Al White

It took six artists and using the Glasgow's City Center as a studio to come up with a beautiful Ford Focus art piece. The color spray took them a total of six hours. The car went on to star in Ford's Centenary Tour exhibition.

Artist: Matthew Watkins

This electric Coda might not be the brightest of the bunch, but it's certainly one of the most technologically advanced. The car is wrapped in iPad art and was featured at the inaugural Mobile Digital Arts Festival this year in L.A.

Artist: Various Artists

BMW has been making art cars for years, so it's only natural for Mini to do the same (for those who don't know, BMW owns Mini). The company put 10 different artists in front of 10 cars and told them to get to work. The car above was one of the varying results of the "Wash Me" project.

Artist: Heidi Taillefer

Back in 2009 Infiniti was celebrating its 20th anniversary at the same time Cirque du Soleil was celebrating its 25th. The two wanted to do something unique to bring attention to the achievements, and this Art Project Vehicle came to fruition. It took Montreal artist Heidi Taillefer 300 hours of hand panting to complete the work, which was later auctioned off by ONE DROP, a charity launched by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté.

Artist: Lu Hao

Unveiled back in 2009 at Beijing's Red Gate Gallery, the 599 "China," as it became known, was inspired by East-West trading using the Silk Road. Te base is a light jade shade that is broken up with random crackles that draw back to Ge Kiln pottery.

Artist: Jeff Koons

BMW was pretty much the originator of the art car, and they're not going to be stopping the tradition any time soon. The most recent uses an M3 racecar as the canvas, creating a streaking rainbow of exuberant colors. Intended to represent speed and explosions, this car was an actual participant in the 24 hours of le mans on june 12th, 2010.

Artist: Harrod Blank

Harrod Blank created the cheesiest van in the world. It's nothing that a hungry mouse would come searching for, and it doesn't belong in the same category as a horrible pickup line. It literally gives people giant cheesy grins when it roles by. Blank, an American artist, covered a 1972 Dodge van with hundreds of flashes and 2,000 cameras as an art project. Ten of the cameras are actually functional, and Harrod can set them off at any time using remote controls from the driver's seat. The best part is Harrod's use of the driver's side window as a gargantuan viewfinder.

Artist: Jona Cerwinske

Unlike most of these other artsy cars, this Lambo didn't need every color on the spectrum to take a bold stance. This black and white masterpiece is the Sharpie car, a project that was conceptualized by Brett David after he took over Lamborghini Miami when his father passed. The dream came to fruition thanks to artist Jona Cerwinske, when he shacked up at the dealership for two weeks and drew the entire work by hand.

Artist: HAMANN

This McLaren is the most recent art car to pop up on our radar and can currently be seen in Vienna. Although it has a similar soul to Jeff Koons' BMW, one of our favorite customizers HAMANN brings a new flavor to the multi-colored design. The special package will run you a little more than $120,000.

Artist: Inspired by Jeff Koons

Nobody likes replicated art ... unless it's on a Viper. The livery you seen on this race-winning ACR-X is pretty much the exact same as Koons' BMW M3 GT2, but it's hard to get angry at something that looks that great.

Artist: Various Artists

The V60 hybrid was used in a group project recently, based in Switzerland's Zurich Main Station. The above car was just one of many painted that day by seven Chinese artists: Shadow Chen, Wang Meng, Sally Zou, Honghua, Hua Tunan, Left, Shan Jiang & MEGAMUNDEN. For the complete collection, check out the amazing video here.

Artist: Various Artists

Like a few of these cars, this group of Vee-Dubs was the final result of a contest that yielded more than 3,000 submissions. The competition was a challenge to see who could come up with the most engaging and interactive Olympic exhibit. Beijing's Ogilvy One and VW made that happen.

Artist: BILLY

Done up by the East Village artist only known as BILLY, this Hyundai got a new outfit for the National Hyundai Dealer Show. Full of gears, eyes, stars and asterisks, this is a design fit for the wild Tiburon.

Artist: Ton Pret

According to his website, Ton Pret's works are an attempt to show the world his fantasies and connect them with his audience. This was achieved not only by using a 355 GTS, but also with his vibrant characters over that famous Ferrari red.

Artist: David Choe

Paint isn't the only method of artistic expression, you know. Scion wanted to do something new, something extreme with one of its most recent bevy of special vehicles, so they went to town on a long line of mini iQs. This spiked exterior was probably our favorite. Click here for the full line.

Artist: Laurence Gartel

This was the first time Tesla delved into the art market, using none other than the main man Laurence Gartel. Again, the swirly creation is a vinyl wrap and was received high praise at the Miami Art Basel Festival

Artist: Hussain Albagali

Abu Dhabi Motors is the biggest BMW, Rolls-Royce, and Mini dealership in the world. It's so big that it holds its own art exhibitions. This Phantom was found among the sea of other works, jazzed up in a one-of-a-kind barcode-esque paint job.