BMW Launches Free AR App To Make Its Art Cars Available To All Of Us

BMW has teamed up with Acute Art to create an AR (Augmented Reality) experience for their renowned Art Cars. You'll be able to view what they'd look like starting July 21st, regardless of where you are.

According to Pieter Nota, BMW's head of customers, brands, and sales, "the BMW Art Cars are a vital element of the DNA of BMW's 50-year-long cultural commitment. Finally, they are making their way into the digital sphere, where they will be accessible to anybody, anywhere.”

The original car that launched the tradition, Hervé Poulain's 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL, will be one of the automobiles accessible right away. Poulain, an art collector, collaborated with BMW motorsport pioneer Jochen Neerpasch to hire an artist to develop the car's race livery for the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year.

They went to Alexander Calder, an American artist. He aimed to give each work his imprint as a sculptor and vehicle painter, which he undoubtedly did. Sadly, the 3.0 CSL was his final creation before his death, but he created a legacy that continues today with Chinese artist Cao Fei's 2017 BMW M6 GT3. BMW intends to add all of its art cars to the app in the future, but for now, it's launching it with seven cars developed by Alexander Calder (BMW 3.0 CSL, 1975), Michael Jagamara Nelson (BMW M3, 1989), Ken Done (BMW M3, 1989), Matazo Kayama (BMW 535i, 1990), Esther Mahlangu (BMW 525i, 1991), Jeff Koons (BMW M3 GT2, 2010), and John Baldess (BMW M6 GTLM, 2016).

The software is very demanding, so you'll need a properly up-to-date smartphone to use it, but it's free. When the automobile is loaded, it appears to be sitting in your surrounding, permitting you to move around it and watch it 360 degrees through your screen. Scanning the QR code supplied by BMW in the gallery below will allow you to download the app.