From John Lennon’s Rolls-Royce Phantom V to BMW’s Elements: 7 art cars to feast your eyes on

May 4 , 2019

On the 2019 BMW i8 Roadster 4 Elements, German artist Milan Kunc illustrated BMW’s desire to strike a balance between automobile development and environmental sustainability.

While John Lennon’s distinctive Rolls-Royce and Janis Joplin’s unforgettable Porsche reflected their individuality, modern modified art cars by BMW, Lexus and Mercedes have matured to embrace larger public causes

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.

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.

John Lennon's 1964 distinctive Rolls-Royce Phantom V was repainted by artist Steve Weaver and became the singer’s everyday car in the US until 1977.

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

Tattoo artist Dave Richards recreated the design for Janis Joplin’s Porsche 356 C. He called the artwork the History of the Universe.

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.