BMW Group has had a strong supportive presence in the world of art and culture for the past 40 years. And for the past 17 years, BMW has chosen a key global artist to design a one of a kind automobile. This year the honor went to the critically acclaimed contemporary artist (and Haute 100 New York member) Jeff Koons, who is best recognized for his over-sized and brightly colored mirrored-finished balloon animals.

Koons’ rendition of the BMW art car will debut in Hong Kong at Art HK 2011 which will take place from May 26 to 29. Following Hong Kong, the mobile art piece will head to Singapore followed by, Indonesia, Philippines, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

In preparation for his distinguished honor, Koons collected images of race cars, related graphics, vibrant colors, and images of speed and explosions as his inspiration in order to evoke power, motion, and bursting energy, even at a stand still.

The artwork serves merely as an accoutrement to the BMW’s chosen model. The M3 GT2 race car took a spot at the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in France in June 2010.  Its impressive engine buckles down a 0 to 60 mph sprint in just 3.42 seconds boasting 500 break horse power.

The car’s designated number 79 pays tribute to the 1979 Andy Warhol art car. This year’s explosive piece will be yet another treasure to add to the collection of BMW’s many art cars bearing the strokes of esteemed artists which will surely continue to stimulate the art and automobile worlds for years to come.