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Check out what David Bowie did when he put his own spin on the iconic little British car's design for its fortieth anniversary.
David Bowie is a legend in the world of popular music, a man that had extraordinary talent. Bowie sold more than 100 million records worldwide. He managed to constantly reinvent himself from seventies glam-rocker, to eighties modern romantic, to nineties mega-pop star. He has to be one of the most famous music artists ever, he's sold more vinyls in the past twenty years than any other artist. After his death, in 2016, Rolling Stone Magazine called him ‘The greatest rock star ever’.
But what about Bowie’s car design skills? With all that artistic talent and creativity, could the musical genius create something really cool if he had put his mind to it? Well, in 1999, BMW and the London Design Museum were keen find out. The iconic British Mini was celebrating its 40th anniversary. And to commemorate this achievement Bowie, Kate Moss, and Paul Smith put their own spins on the popular little car's design.
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Kate Moss painted her mini black, and then covered the car's bodywork in a spidery white cobweb design. Paul Smith went for very bold colors. He repainted his car with an array of pastel-shaded vertical stripes, which gave it a real seventies vibe.
David however, did something much more radical. He didn’t want to just paint the inanimate object. He wanted to make the Mini a living piece of art, something that would combine and blend in with its surroundings. In his words, and spoken like a true artist, he said that "It should be an integral element of whatever happens to be."
So, he covered the whole car in chrome plating. Every single inch of the car, except for the tires, windows, and the glass on the front and rear lights. The all-chrome Mini was then mirror-polished, and matching chrome tints applied to the windows.
The result, as you can see from the images, is spectacular. The classic British mini looks like someone has driven it into a large vat of chrome paint. When you stand next to it, it's like standing in front of a strange shaped mirror, all that you see is your own reflection. The whole thing is brilliant, definitely not the work of 'A Lad Insane' (smile). David studied Art, Music and Design before going into music, so it's not surprising that he produced something as cool as this.
This particular Mini started off with just a small amount of chrome on the front grille, headlamp surrounds and door mirrors. The transformation is really amazing. It's something that Bowie’s alter-ego, Ziggy Stardust, would no doubt be proud of. We can just imagine the flamboyant character climbing into this car to try and escape from the Spiders from Mars, or driving around in it attempting to catch the annoying Laughing Gnome.
After he completed the project, he described the bright chrome mini as ‘The Emperors Clothes’. With reference to the famous fairy-tale in which a self-obsessed ruler gets tricked into believing that he’s wearing the finest set of robes in the land, yet he’s actually naked.
Bowie had this to say about his creation at the London Design Museum's launch exhibition;
Interviewer: “How did you become involved in the project?”
Bowie: “I was asked”
Interviewer: “Why do you think Mini design has lasted so long?”
Interviewer: “Do you have any other favorite British design classics?”
Evidently, he was a man of few words. But also very quick-witted, with a subtle sense of humor. He actually drove a Mini while living in London, and as you can see, he loved the fact that it was easy to park in the city's crowded streets.
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In the 1960s, often referred to as the ‘Swinging Sixties’, London was a fun place to be. It had everything; fashion, theater, art, music and also some really cool cars. E-type Jaguars, Aston Martins, Jensen Interceptors and Rolls-Royces were parading around. And the small, cheap family runaround Mini was getting some serious celebrity admirers too.
The legendary Beatles were big fans of the little car. In 1965, their manager Brian Epstein bought each band member a Mini Cooper 'S'. Each car was custom fitted by Harold Radford with luxury interiors and high-spec add-ons.
George Harrison's psychedelic red and gold Mini featured in the band’s 1967 movie ‘Magical Mystery Tour’. Paul McCartney's California Sage Metallic Green Cooper 'S' got some really cool Aston Martin touches. Ringo Starr had his two-tone Regal Red/Silver-Grey Mini transformed into a hatch-back so that he could transport his drum-kit around in it. And John Lennon opted for an all-black paint-job, which included dark tinted windows and color-coded bumpers.
The little car became popular in the US too. The Monkees guitarist and singer Michael Nesmith had a radford-built Mini Cooper 'S' with a folding roof. Steve McQueen actually owned two Minis. In 1961, he bought a Cooper Formula Junior racer, and six years later he purchased a Cooper ’S’ from none other than John Cooper himself.
The British actor, Peter Sellers had one, and Enzo Ferrari apparently owned several of them. And it must have been a marketing team's dream when the famous fashion model 'Twiggy' drove around the streets of London in one. Another very famous glam-rock singer, Marc Bolan was sadly killed in one, when he crashed his Mini into a tree. And the list goes on...
Today, you can see David's amazing creation in the window of the Hard Rock hotel in London. We think that it's just one more wonderful reminder of how brilliant the man was. RIP David Bowie.
Rob Charles is a Freelance Writer with a passion for Cars.