For decades, BMW has commissioned art cars from some of the world’s most infamous artists, including Andy Warhol (pictured second in gallery above) and Jeff Koons. Often brightly and wildly colored, the cars brought notoriety and attention to both the artist and BMW. The ostentatious art cars are a delightful contradiction, as the bright paint schemes perfectly accentuated the subdued Germanic bodylines of their automotive canvass.
Despite the success of the BMW art cars over the years, Mercedes-Benz, BMW’s chief rival, has never really gone the flashy, attention-grabbing route. That is, until now. Behold the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet with a wrap inspired by a swimsuit pattern by Mara Hoffman.
Mara Hoffman has been given the “Mercedes-Benz Presents” award this year, recognizing her daring swimsuit designs at this year’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim at The Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach. Past Mercedes-Benz Presents recipients include Vitamin A, Red Carter (pictured third in gallery above), Trina Turk, and LUXE by Lisa Vogel.
Instead of simply awarding Ms. Hoffman, however, Mercedes got a bit bold and wrapped one of its E-Class Cabrios to match a Hoffman swimsuit. “It was a dream come true to see one of my designed prints as the paint finish on a Mercedes-Benz convertible,” said Mara Hoffman in a prepared statement.
The convertible will be driven around to the hotspots of South Beach to give out invitations to runway shows at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim, presumably to the most deserving and beautiful people. What will happen to it then is unclear. It’ll either get crushed or end up in the lobby of a Mercedes building somewhere.
I must say I am rather enamored with the Mercedes swimsuit Cabrio. As wonderful as it looks, though, it pales in comparison to the actual swimsuit models who will be sporting the thin strips of cloth. Push comes to shove, I know which I’d rather get my hands on but my hat is off to Mercedes for being a bit daring.
