BMW 2 Series Coupe Unofficial Art Car, A Launch Tribute

The BMW Group plant in San Luis Potosi celebrates the production launch of the new BMW 2 Series Coupe with an art car! Painters Luis Esquivel and David Fernandes led the designing of this colourful work of art. Although it was created in-house, the artwork involves a lot of effort as it has many curves and 3D shapes. Some designs even require up to five layers of paint to achieve the best result. The painters used 6.1 litres of automotive paint and 2.5 clear coats, using eight colours and shades. 

With a careful application of paint, the painters polished the art car in the paint booth at Plant Training Centre. Applying one colour at a time, they let each colour dry for 30 minutes before adding a new colour. For a good polish, they need to comply with strict specifications such as humidity, temperature and air purity. It takes a total of seven weeks for the entire painting and coating process – three weeks for applying the paint, two for the clear coat and another two for polishing and other finishing touches.

The choice of paint, proper mixing and shading play a big part in creating this art car. The colours chosen represent both the Mexican and German flag colours. In addition, the front paintings represent the countries’ power and contribution in terms of technology, design and perfection. For Mexicans, the colour orange symbolises the marigold in particular. This flower is common during the celebration of the Day of the Dead. The painted human silhouettes are a tribute to the BMW plant workers in San Luis Potosi, celebrating their craftsmanship. Thanks to these people, the first BMW vehicle in Mexico became known throughout the world.

Although the San Luis Potosi plant is the youngest in the global network, it is flexible in adapting to new designs and constructions. In fact, it has already achieved major milestones two years ago, such as expanding its operations to include the start-up of plug-in hybrid vehicles. It has also expanded its infrastructure after investing $125 million and putting the BMW 2 Series Coupe into production. In just two years, the company has already produced 170,000 BMW 3 Series vehicles, representing 3% of total BMW production.