Hervé Poulain (born 16 December 1940) is a retired

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

, author, and auctioneer. He is best known today as the instigator of the

BMW Art Car The BMW Art Car Project was introduced by the French racecar driver and auctioneer Hervé Poulain, who wanted to invite an artist to create a canvas on an automobile. In 1975, Poulain commissioned American artist and friend Alexander Calder to pain ...

project. Poulain's idea was to invite

contemporary artists This is a list of artists who create contemporary art, i.e., those whose peak of activity can be situated somewhere between the 1970s (the advent of postmodernism) and the present day. Artists on this list meet the following criteria: *The person ...

to use new automobiles, which he raced at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

. In 1975, BMW commissioned Poulain's friend Alexander Calder to paint the first BMW Art Car. This first example would be a

BMW 3.0 CSL The BMW E9 is a range of coupés produced from 1968 to 1975. Initially released as the 2800 CS model, the E9 was based on the BMW New Class#New Class Coupés, BMW 2000 C / 2000 CS four-cylinder coupés, which were enlarged to fit the BMW M ...

'Batmobile' which Poulain himself would race in the

1975 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 43rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14 and 15 June 1975. Colloquially called the “Le Mans Economy Run”,Spurring 2011, p.171Clausager 1982, p.167-9Clarke 1997, p.10: Motorsport July 1975 stringen ...

. Poulain drove Calder's BMW with Jean Guichet and Sam Posey, although the car suffered driveshaft issues and was retired early, and never raced again. Calder died a year later in 1976. In 1976, Frank Stella painted a BMW 3.0 CSL for the

1976 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 44th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 12 and 13 June 1976. This year the FIA introduced its new Group 5 (racing)#4th Generation Group 5 – “Special Production Cars” (1976 to 1982), Group 5 and Gro ...

. It was driven by Brian Redman and Peter Gregg. In 1977, Poulain drove the

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. Hi ...

's Art Car, a Group 5 BMW 320i, which 9th overall and first in its class at the

1977 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 45th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 11 and 12 June 1977. The second year of the FIA Group 5 (racing)#4th Generation Group 5 – “Special Production Cars” (1976 to 1982), Group 5 and Group 6 (rac ...

. In 1978, BMW asked Andy Warhol to paint a black BMW 320i for the

1978 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 46th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 10 and 11 June 1978. In many ways it was a continuation of the race from the year before – the two main protagonists would be the very evenly-matched works team ...

, but the model was changed and failed to qualify for the race. In 1979, Warhol painted a

BMW M1 The BMW M1 (model code E26) is a mid-engined sports car produced by German automotive manufacturer BMW from 1978 until 1981. In the late 1970s, Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to build a production ...

Group 4 racing version that was more successful at the

1979 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 47th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 9 and 10 June 1979. With no other major works cars this year, the Porsche team were the strong favourites to win. Their competition would be from Cosworth-po ...

, with Poulain,

Manfred Winkelhock Manfred Winkelhock (6 October 1951 – 12 August 1985) was a German racing driver. He participated in 56 Formula One Grands Prix (with 47 starts) between 1980 and 1985, driving for Arrows, ATS, Brabham and RAM Racing, with a best finish of fi ...

and Marcel Mignot behind the wheel. They completed 288 laps at the Sarthe circuit, coming in 6th overall, and 2nd in their class. During the course of that race the car made contact with other cars several times. Warhol had painted spare bumpers and body panels, which were necessary.

References

1940 births Living people French racing drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers {{France-autoracing-bio-stub