The Le Mans Art Car series was officially introduced in 1976, when French auctioneer and gentleman driver Hervé Poulain (ten 24 Hours of Le Mans entries) fielded a BMW decorated by American painter and sculptor Alexander Calder. He was followed by artists such as Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, the sculptor César and French cartoonist Georges Wolinski. “All the Art Cars that I drove in the 24 Hours of Le Mans are special to me in one way or another,” says Poulain, who finished sixth in the Andy Warhol BMW M1 in 1979, the best result for an Art Car at Le Mans. “It’s impossible to say which is my favourite Art Car. It’s like asking a father which child he prefers!”

If we look further back in the history of the 24 Hours, there are other cars which could be described as Art Cars. Take, for example the 1950 version of the 166 MM, the first Ferrari to win at Le Mans (in 1949). It was exhibited at the New York Museum of Modern Art as a symbol of one of the 20th century’s greatest inventions and a universal legend.

Later Porsche, the most successful manufacturer at Le Mans with a record 18 victories, entered two 917s, respectively nicknamed the ‘Hippie’ (fluorescent green and purple – 1970) and the ‘Pink Pig’ (sporting the names of different cuts of pork across its bodywork - 1971). They were both very popular with fans and could be described as the ‘prototypes’ for the Art Cars.

So the question is, can the term Art Car be used to describe an unusual livery or is it necessarily the work of an artist? For Jacques Nicolet, who was behind the Morgan LMP2 Art Car created from road signs by Fernando Costa to mark the 90th anniversary of the 24 Hours, the answer is unambiguous: “I’m not especially inspired by one Art Car in particular, but by the concept of the Art Car, in other words an artist, a theme, a story and a concept. The Morgan was special because it was a prototype, whereas most Art Cars have been GTs.”

That Morgan has just been added to the 24 Hours Museum’s collections, along with another car from the marque — the LMP2 driven by quadruple amputee Frédéric Sausset. Its livery was created by car designer and graphic artist Benoît Fraylon. “I wanted to make the car look even more dynamic, with the diagonal line running from the shark fin  [the flow straightener linking the rear aerofoil to the cockpit] to the front blade. Fred [Sausset] gave me plenty of freedom but we still needed to place the sponsors’ decals — however big or small — in the right place. For the graphic designer, that means a certain number of obligations, which are not encountered by an artist, although the latter will define their own constraints. Strictly speaking though, an Art Car is the work of an artist... which raises another question: how do you define an artist?”

Everyone will have their own answer to that, but let’s leave the final word to Ramzi Adek, the artist behind the #50 Corvette Larbre Compétition (LMGTE Am): “I wanted to design an Art Car with widespread appeal because fans at the 24 Hours of Le Mans do not necessarily spend their time in art galleries. I imagined a super car for super drivers, inspired as much by Matisse as by comic strip culture, more specifically a comic entitled Human. Captain America is there, ready to attack his rivals on track. The woman has an important role in this human story. The fighter plane embodies power and aggressiveness. The skull is to show rivals what’s in store for them if they overtake. And the fluorescent images that show up at night symbolise all the car’s  superpowers.”

For the Corvette Art Car and its drivers Romain Brandela (who came up with the project), Christian Philippon and Fernando Rees, things have got off to a good start with pole position in the LMGTE class. It now remains to see whether Ramzi Adek’s superpowers and the combined experience of Jack Leconte’s team will help the team to a happy end next Sunday.
 

Photo: After its 2011 and 2012 victories, will the Larbre Compétition/Corvette combination bag a third win for its 24th outing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?