Art Cars first appeared in the early 1970s, thanks to Hervé Poulain—from whom we have taken these archives. This now-retired French racing driver had an ingenious idea, to invite artists to decorate the car he’d use for the Le Mans 24-hour race. The first artist to sign an Art Car was American sculptor Alexander Calder, followed by other prominent figures like Frank Stella, Georges Wolinski and even Andy Warhol in 1978. Taking up this idea, the Driven Artists Racing Team (DART Car) tapped American artist Mickalene Thomas to design a custom wrap for their very first racecar, the McLaren Artura GT4, which also marks the debut of the all-female-led Racing Team. Co-founded by entrepreneur Zoë Barry, artistic consultant Spring McManus and professional racing driver Aurora Straus, the initiative aims to highlight women’s presence and their achievements in motorsport, a field where they make up just 4% of drivers. The first DART Car competition will take place at the Sonoma Raceway in California from March 28th to 30th. We are rooting for them to make the podium!