It’s been 32 years since the arty, iconic BMW 525i, painted by world-renowned artist Esther Mahlangu, was first shown across the world – and now it’s coming home.
The 87-year-old Ndebele artist adorned a 1991 BMW 525i in the traditional Ndebele art style and colours for which it has been world-renowned for decades. Mahlangu was the first woman to create the artwork on the sedan, turning it into a unique and colourful BMW Art Car.
However, the 12th BMW Art Car has not been in South Africa since its local reveal in 1991.
Now BMW Group South Africa’s general manager for corporate communications, Thilosh Moodally, has revealed that the car is expected to return to its home soil next year.
“The BMW Art Cars are on permanent display at the BMW Museum in Munich, although this 12th Art Car has been showcased at events in Hong Kong, New York, Miami, Shanghai and at the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza on Lake Como (in Italy), for example.
The car will return to South Africa early in 2024 where it will be open to the public.
“Thereafter, the vehicle will be displayed at the Iziko Museums, also in Cape Town, for a year… It will resume its touring schedule thereafter, with planned visits to the US and the UK.”
According to Moodally, the idea of involving the arts in crafting the German cars was initiated by French racing driver and art aficionado Hervé Poulain and was conceived in collaboration with the founder of BMW Motorsport, Jochen Neerpasch.
The first BMW Art Car was commissioned when they asked Alexander Calder to design Poulain’s BMW race car in 1975. The idea resulted in a colourfully painted BMW 3.0 CSL which was raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Since then, 20 artists from around the world have created BMW Art Cars on the basis of contemporary BMWs.
Mahlangu’s showpiece, the 12th in the Art Car series, is purely for exhibition purposes.
In 2016, she was again commissioned by the BMW Group to refine a BMW 7 Series. The vehicle was on display at the Frieze Art Fair which took place in London in 2016 but touched down in the country about seven years ago. The 7 series has since formed part of BMW Group South Africa’s Heritage Collection.
Mahlangu said at the time: “To paint is in my heart and it’s in my blood. The way I paint was taught to me by my mother and grandmother.
“The images and colours have changed and I have painted on many different surfaces and objects, but I still love to paint.”