Since most of us are not rich and famous, Monaco would be just another dot on the map that we don’t really care about, except for two things: the Grand Prix of Monaco, and the Monte Carlo Rally. When it comes to motorsports, those two events and their rich history of hosting fast cars put Monaco in the top tier of racing venues.
Speaking of fast cars, among those of which we are particularly fond is the BMW M4 Coupe. German tuner Hamann Motorsport has created a special M4, first seen at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. Now Hamann has taken the car to Monaco, not to race, but to shoot—a photo shoot at one of Europe’s most iconic racing locations.
Hamann’s M4 is special for two reasons. One is the car itself, which Hamann has tweaked to produce 517 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. The suspension is lowered, the front includes a carbon fiber spoiler while a GT3-style wing sits above the trunk.
The other aspect of this particular M4 is that it is an art car. Not an official BMW art car, but a Hamann BMW art car. The styling was designed by Timo Wuerz, who was described as the “rock star of the comic scene” by Germany’s largest national subscription daily newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung.
There is nothing calm or passive or traditional about Wuerz’s paint on this M4. It is aggressive and bold. We like how the BMW Motorsport colors are integrated in the design along with a hint of the Austin Yellow that the current M3 and M4 have made famous. The streaks in the paint give an impression of speed while the car is sitting still. This is a nice device, but given the car’s 517 ponies, this Hamann one-off M4 can create its own streaks at speed. The front view in the tunnel evokes a river of hot lava streaming over the engine between the blue and violet fenders. At least that's what it looks like to us.
When it comes to art, we pretty much agree with Mark Twain, who wrote, “we do not know much about art and cannot easily work up ourselves into ecstasies over it.” BMW art cars are, however, a different matter and we do get excited about them. The Hamann M4 art car’s combination of design and performance is one over which we could easily work ourselves into an ecstasy.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of Russell McKellar via GTSpirit.com.]
