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Bathurst 12 Hour 2026: BMW Celebrates 50 Year Art Cars and 40 Year M3 at Mount Panorama
14/02/2026
Mount Panorama is never just another race. But in 2026, it becomes pure culture at speed.
During the Bathurst 12 Hour from February 13 to 15, 2026, Team WRT returns to defend its dominant one‑two finish from 2025. This time, however, BMW is not relying on lap times alone, but also on history. The number 32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO appears with a livery inspired by BMW Art Car number eight, created by artist Ken Done. Racing as a canvas. Speed as an art form.
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From E30 M3 Art Car to modern GT3 racer
In nineteen eighty‑nine, Ken Done transformed a BMW M3 E30 into Art Car number eight. His inspiration came from the energy and colours of parrots and tropical fish, movement translated into paint. The original was applied to a championship‑winning Group A M3, closely linked to Australian motorsport legend Jim Richards.
Now, nearly four decades later, that explosive colour palette returns to Mount Panorama. Not on a museum piece, but on a modern GT3 machine. The number 32 M4 GT3 EVO will be driven by Jordan Pepper, Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts, 3 drivers who know exactly how to win an endurance classic.
Fifty years of BMW Art Car, forty years of M3
2026 is no coincidence.
BMW celebrates 50 years of Art Car history, a collaboration between art and motorsport that began in 1975. Over that period, world‑renowned artists have transformed BMW race cars into moving sculptures.
At the same time, the M3 celebrates its fortieth anniversary. Launched in nineteen eighty‑six as a homologation model for Group A racing, the M3 grew into one of the most iconic performance badges ever created. Six generations later, the DNA remains clearly visible, competition at its core. That is what makes Bathurst twenty twenty‑six so symbolic. The Art Car tradition, born in racing, returns to one of the most unforgiving circuits in the world.
Mount Panorama, where art must survive
Bathurst is not a glamorous parade. It is twelve hours of racing on a narrow, technical and ruthless circuit in New South Wales. Elevation changes. Blind apexes. Concrete walls measured in millimetres.
A livery can be as artistic as it wants, but in the end only speed and reliability matter. And that is precisely where the strength of this tribute lies. At BMW, art and competition have never been separate worlds.
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BMW could have simply shown up to win. Instead, the brand chooses to connect fifty years of cultural heritage with forty years of M3 history at one of the toughest endurance events on the planet.
The Ken Done inspired M4 GT3 EVO is more than a race car with a striking paint scheme. It is a statement. Performance is emotion. And emotion is culture. Bathurst twenty twenty‑six will therefore not only be a battle against the clock, but also a celebration of what has always set BMW Motorsport apart.
