By Bea Elle
BMW France has donated a unique BMW i3, designed by Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari of TOILETPAPER, to the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation’s (LDF) Fourth Annual Saint-Tropez Gala fundraising auction. After some intense bidding, the pasta-inspired fully-functioning electric vehicle went to a Swiss collector for €100,000.
For the exterior of the BMW i3, TOILETPAPER employed their signature style spaghetti close-up imagery. Cattelan remarked upon his work, “This is by far the best Spaghetti Car I have tasted! All those years of perfecting definitely paid off! Totally awesome!”
The gala was hosted by LDF Founder and Chairman Leonardo DiCaprio, foundation CEO Terry Tamminen, and the Global Fundraising Chairman Milutin Gatsby, honoring Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo. Event Chairs included Prince Albert II of Monaco, Cate Blanchett, Marion Cotillard, Philippe Cousteau, Penélope Cruz, Tom Hanks, Kate Hudson, Doutzen Kroes, Jared Leto, Tobey Maguire, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Uma Thurman and Kate Winslet. Among the guests in attendance were Adrien Brody, Sean Penn, Taylor Hill, Iman Hamman and Gerard Butler. For the international guests, American artist Lenny Kravitz performed on site. Additionally, there was a surprise performance by Madonna.
Vincent Salimon, CEO of BMW Group France, said he was delighted that “our commitments to sustainable development and support for contemporary creation come together to raise funds for the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.”
“The donation of this unique work for the foundation’s annual charity gala in Saint-Tropez reflects once again the company’s culture: daring, innovating, creating in complete freedom, in a responsible and sustainable spirit,” said Salimon.
Auctioneer Simon de Pury, together with curator Lisa Schiff of SFA Advisory, oversaw the sale of dozens of original works by internationally renowned artists such as Jeff Koons, Tracey Emin, Urs Fischer, Paul McCarthy, Adrian Ghenie, Rudolf Stingel, and current BMW Art Journey recipient Max Hooper Schneider.
With $30 million raised so far, the auction continues online to benefit LDF programs. For more information, visit http://www.2017ldfauction.org/en.
