Art cars have been a revolutionary movement in recent decades. Unlike everyday cars mass-produced using factory designs, art cars are modified by individual artists, sometimes commissioned by car brands, to reflect their personalities. Art cars sometimes also carry an agenda, be it political or artistic. 1. John Lennon’s Rolls-Royce Phantom V In the 1960s, there were a few “lifestyle” art cars that were owned by rock stars. One of the best-known art cars was owned by John Lennon. These are the cars that will always rule the roads for petrol-heads In 1964, Lennon bought a black Rolls-Royce Phantom V, which The Beatles drove to Buckingham Palace to receive their MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire). After the car was damaged during the shooting of the 1967 movie How I Won the War, Lennon sent it to be repaired at the coachbuilder JP Fallon, and invited artist Steve Weaver to repaint the body yellow and decorate it with totem patterns. The art car subsequently became Lennon’s everyday commute, and accompanied him when he moved to the United States in 1970. The car was loaned to rock stars such as Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. In 1977, Lennon donated the celebrity car to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in New York. The Cooper-Hewitt sold the car in 1985 to a Canadian businessman and since 1993 it has been in the Royal British Columbia Museum in Canada. 2. Janis Joplin’s Porsche 356 Another well-known celebrity art car is the Porsche 356 owned by Janis Joplin, who was once ranked 28th among the world’s top singers. In 1968, Joplin, who was already a rock ’n’ roll icon and lead singer of the Big Brother and the Holding Company, bought the four-year-old grey-coloured Porsche 356 C. In the same year, Dave Richards, the assistant to the band and tattoo artist, recreated the design for this Porsche with a Janis-Joplin personality. The painting on its body is known as the History of the Universe . Crash tested: which are the 30 safest cars on the road in 2019? Dave Richards first introduced the apple red background, before painting on the front left the portrait of one of the band members. A scorpion pattern, representing Joplin, was painted at the back. Depicted on each side was a country view of Northern California. The “Eye of God” on the bonnet added a touch of mystery to the work. Joplin drove this art car until her death in 1970 of heroin overdose in a Hollywood hotel. The Porsche was parked outside at the time. Her car was taken by Janis’ brother in 1973 and was repainted its original grey. In the 1990s, Joplin’s family hired two Texan artists to repaint the History of the Universe in accordance with an earlier photo. It was finally sold at auction in 2015 for US$176 million (HK1.38 billion). 3. BMW 3.0 CSL The German marque started a tradition of art car creation in 1975 and has released 19 official art cars to date. The work on art cars evolved from a luxurious and stylish expression of oneself to publicity efforts on racing vehicles. More recently, the publicity on art cars sought to support public causes like environmental protection. Planning on visiting space in 2021? Elon Musk will make this possible BMW art cars originated with French auctioneer and racing driver Herve Poulain, who wanted to combine his passion for art and automobiles. In 1975, he commissioned his friend and sculptor Alexander Calder to design the pattern for his racing car. Calder completed his work on a BMW 3.0 CSL, and launched the tradition of the BMW art car. Calder died the following year, leaving this art car as his last piece of personal work. Since then, the BMW art car has been the representative in the field where automobile and artistic creations converge. Outside the official BMW Art Car series, there is art work on BMWs that add to the broader history of art cars. Some examples are the M1 Procar created for racing driver Peter Gregg by Frank Stella in 1979; the Z1 by Keith Haring in 1987; Z1 and the X6 by Christie Chandler in 2006. 4. BMW i8 Roadster 4 Elements The most recent unofficial art car is the i8 Roadster 4 Elements commissioned by BMW, an art piece created by Czech-born German artist Milan Kunc in 2018. On the i8 body, Kunc illustrated the beauty of nature, showing BMW’s desire to strike a balance between automobile development and environmental sustainability. Each side of the car showcases the themes of fire, water, air and earth, hence the name i8 Roadster 4 Elements. Can Aston Martin’s new electric Rapide E give Tesla a run for its money? The art car is expected to go on display during a world tour, visiting the BMW Welt at the headquarters of BMW in Germany. After the tour, the car is to be auctioned, with the proceeds going to The Ocean Cleanup to support its mission to extract marine pollution. The past decade has seen a trend where art cars are showing up in different contexts and presenting a more diverse range of topics. Inspirations were drawn from street art, software simulation and philosophical ideas. 5. Mercedes CLA-class In 2015, Mercedes-Benz invited Cro, a popular German rapper, to produce an art car on a Mercedes CLA-class car. The pattern on the car is a manifesto of freestyle graffiti street art. The graphics were developed using spray paints and markers. 6. BAC Mono In 2017, BAC, a British supercar manufacturing company, collaborated with Autodesk, a leading computer graphics software firm. Using a fluid mechanics simulation software, the recording of airflow was then printed onto BAC’s Mono sports car. The BAC Mono is probably the fastest art car in history. 7. Lexus LFA Commissioned by Lexus, Portuguese artist Pedro Henriques was asked to create art on a Lexus LFA. Inspired by Japanese minimalism, Henriques highlighted black patterns on a white body, expressing the world’s never-ending and unrestricted changes and dynamics in a fluid-flowing pattern. ‘Kardashian’s’ star Kylie Jenner’s first custom car is an icy-blue Rolls-Royce Wraith – and it cost a meagre US$320,000 As an art form, the creation of the art car reflected the zeitgeist of the time. The intention of art cars has since evolved – from an expression of personal style to publicity tools to make a wider impact. Cars are not only about functionality, nor do they have to appear uniform. There is a humanistic side to the product of mechanical engineering. Art cars have brought the appreciation of automobile to another level. Want more stories like this? Sign up here . Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter