Climate activists attack artwork: BMW M1 by Andy Warhol

Climate activists have been targeting art for the past few months. At home and abroad, paintings by Vermeer, Monet and Van Gogh were smeared with soup and mashed potatoes. Another work of art was recently soaked in 8 kilograms of wheat flour: a BMW M1 Procar painted by Andy Warhol in the late 1970s.

What does the “attack” on artworks have to do with environmental issues? Nothing, but it attracts attention. The question is, of course, whether the climate activists are strengthening their arguments with these actions. We can imagine that they will cause bad blood among the public.

BMW M1 dusted with flour by climate activists

But on the other hand, the paintings of Vermeer, Monet and Van Gogh were not damaged by the actions, nor was Andy Warhol’s BMW M1. He was simply doused with 8 kilos of flour in a museum in Milan. Then the climate activists of the Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) glued themselves to the ground.

Painted by Andy Warhol

The powder-coated M1 Procar is BMW’s fourth Art Car. It was painted in under half an hour by Andy Warhol in the late 1970s and then competed in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing sixth and second in class.

The value of the M1 ‘attacked’ by climate activists is not known, but is probably in the millions. The racing car is still owned by BMW.

The M1 got off to a rocky start

The BMW M1 has a difficult history. It was developed for the Group 5 racing class, but due to a change in regulations it could only be homologated for Group 5 after 400 (road) cars had been built for the Group 4 homologation.

Video where you can see the climate activists at the BMW M1:

The problem was that Lamborghini would build the cars. In the 1970s, the Italian brand was on the brink of financial ruin, so BMW took over the project itself halfway through. When the M1 was complete it had no racing class to compete in. So BMW came up with its own class: the Procar championship, which was held as a supporting program for F1.

The M1 was not officially homologated for Group 4 until December 1, 1980. How is it possible that he already took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979? Because he was (compulsorily) used in the IMSA GTX class. As a race car, the M1 drew around 470 hp from its 3.5-litre straight-six, which later reappeared in the first-generation BMW M5.