Artist transforms new BMW into work of art to celebrate new production line

September 14, 2021

The 2 Series BMW painted by the artist Bosco.

A visual artist from San Luis Potosí has refashioned a BMW 2 Series, marrying elements of Mexican and German culture to achieve a vibrant, unique design in celebration of a new production line of the model at the BMW plant in the state.

The artist, who goes by the name Bosco, transformed the car with help from two of the plant’s paint specialists, Luis Esquivel and David Fernandes. Eight different colors of paint —6.1 liters in total — and 2.5 liters of transparent coating were applied to the vehicle’s exterior.

The front of the car features a blend of German and Mexican flags. The back of the vehicle is decorated with orange paint to symbolize the marigold flower in reference to the Day of the Dead, the annual celebration in which it is used to adorn altars. An abstract nopal cactus appears on the side of the vehicle and a pair of human silhouettes pay compliment to the plant’s workers.

The seven-week artistic process was completely manually. Bosco applied layers of paint color by color, leaving a drying time of 30 minutes between each layer. It required strict control of humidity, temperature and air purity.

“What I sought to do through this work was to translate the colors of Mexico and integrate it into the spirit of the car. This work is totally different from what I am used to doing. That is why it was very important to work together with Luis and Daniel, who supported me with their technical experience,” Bosco said.

President of the plant, Harald Gottsche, said artistry is part of the plant’s daily life. “This artistic work undoubtedly exhibits the talent that exists in Mexico … We wanted to tell this story in a different way and what better way than to do it through art to capture all our emotions. Vehicle production in the BMW Group is an art of its own. The artists are our partners, who assemble each car with the help of the most sophisticated technology,” he said.

The plant kicked off production of the 2 Series on August 26. Exports of the new models to North America are expected to begin by the end of this year, with European sales set to start in early 2022, the company said in a statement.