The BMW 8 X Jeff Koons starts life as a BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe that combines bold colors with striking graphic design reminiscent of the style used in comic books. The blue colors were chosen to represent the vastness of space. The lines of color at the rear pay homage to the artist’s 2010 BMW Art Car, an E92 M3 GT2 that was raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
BMW’s paint process for the car requires 11 stages and several hundred hours per vehicle to complete.
Its cabin is upholstered in fine leather and features “The 8 X Jeff Koons” badging on the cupholder lid. Seats have red and blue hues, taking inspiration from the automaker’s M performance division.
The exterior and interior liveries are completely exclusive to this special edition.
“My edition of the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe is a dream come true. It is completely unique, very special to me and I’ve wanted to create a special edition BMW for a long time,” said Jeff Koons. “What matters is how we relate to each other and our awareness of everything we are surrounded by. This principle drove my creative vision for The 8 X Jeff Koons, and it’s an exciting next chapter of co-creation with BMW.”
Two cars will be produced each week by specialized teams at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing and BMW Group Plant Landshut. Each finished vehicle comes with a large-format certificate of authenticity containing its unique vehicle identification number (VIN), personally signed by Jeff Koons and BMW Chairman and CEO Oliver Zipse.
BMW will only offer the car in an M850i xDrive Gran Coupe configuration. Its price tag is $350,000 plus a $995 destination and delivery fee. Just 99 will be made.
The 8 X Jeff Koons is available for pre-order on the BMW website.
Next month, the display model moves to Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, where it will be on public display from April 1 to 4. On April 4, the vehicle will be auctioned off by Christie’s with all proceeds from the vehicle’s auction price donated to The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), a charity Koons has been personally involved with for two decades.
Following that, it travels to Europe, Asia and the Middle East for events that include the 16th Istanbul Contemporary, Paris Photo, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Art Dubai, West Bund Art & Design Fair Shanghai and Art Basel Hong Kong.
