Originally published April 7, 2016|Updated October 12, 2026
Most people picture a pristine showpiece when they think of a beautiful car. Some artists see something else: a worn-out sedan, a pile of scrap, or a race car waiting to become a canvas. Here are the best-known examples of cars used as art, plus one of the newest.
Cadillac Ranch: Tailfins in the Texas Dirt
Cadillac Ranch sits along Route 66 outside Amarillo, Texas. The art collective Ant Farm (Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez, and Doug Michels) built it in 1974 with funding from local millionaire Stan Marsh 3. The ten Cadillacs are planted nose-down in chronological order, from a 1949 Club Coupe to a 1963 Sedan de Ville. That lineup traces the rise and fall of the tailfin, the signature styling of postwar American cars.
The piece has never been static. The whole installation was moved about two miles west in 1997. Visitors are encouraged to add their own spray paint, and cans are sold nearby. The cars are now bare, heavily layered shells, and a fresh design rarely lasts more than a few hours. The site even inspired Bruce Springsteen’s 1980 song “Cadillac Ranch.”
Carhenge: Stonehenge, Detroit Style
Nebraska has its own take on cars as monuments. Carhenge, near Alliance, was built by Jim Reinders and dedicated at the June 1987 summer solstice. It uses 39 automobiles arranged in a circle about 96 feet across. Reinders conceived it as a memorial to his father.
Locals weren’t sold at first, but the attraction has since won people over. The Friends of Carhenge donated the site to the city of Alliance in 2013. It keeps turning up in pop culture too. It appeared in Disney Plus’s Cars on the Road series in 2023.
Download the free printable inspired by Nebraska’s Carhenge below. Settle in with your favorite colored pencils and take your time.
BMW Art Cars: Where Racing Meets the Museum
If Cadillac Ranch and Carhenge are folk art on the roadside, BMW Art Cars are the gallery version. The first one was designed by Alexander Calder in 1975 and debuted at Le Mans. It started a tradition that drew in some very big names.
- Alexander Calder (1975): The sculptor behind the famous mobiles painted the very first one.
- Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein: Both created Art Cars for BMW, as did Jeff Koons.
- David Hockney (1995): He painted a road-going 850 CSi.
- John Baldessari and Cao Fei (2016–2017): Baldessari’s BMW M6 GTLM raced at the 24 Hours of Daytona, followed by Cao Fei’s virtual M6 GT3.
The Newest Art Car: Julie Mehretu (2024)
The latest chapter is the 20th BMW Art Car. It was designed by Julie Mehretu on a BMW M Hybrid V8 race car, and it premiered at the Centre Pompidou in Paris on May 21, 2024, before racing at Le Mans. Mehretu used the colors and forms of her large painting Everywhen as the starting point. She sees the car as unfinished until it races. In her words, it’s only completed once the race is over.
Why Cars Make Such Good Art
- They’re familiar. Everyone has a car story.
- They’re big, which makes for dramatic sculpture.
- They carry history, from tailfins to Le Mans.
- They’re easy to find: old cars cost little, and salvage yards are everywhere.
Free printable coloring page below — inspired by the famous car art along Route 66. Intricate enough for adults, with plenty of open space to relax into.