Arthur Kar started as a car dealer for rare and vintage automobiles. Following the success of his car dealership, L’Art de l’automobile, he turned his brand into a clothing business, fulling his dream: a car company that can be expanded into a 360 brand. He is driven by his passion for cars, art, fashion, and lifestyle.
From a Lebanese background, Karl started to work at the age of 16 in a Porsche garage in Paris, after imploring the owner of the garage several times to give him a job. His passion for cars emerged way sooner than that, transmitted to him from his father, who owned a mechanic’s garage in Beirut. Moreover, he has always been very interested in basketball and hip hop culture, which was — and still is — strongly linked with luxury cars. During an interview, he said that he remembers sitting in his father’s Ford and listening to a rap song and saying to his dad – “can we do everything in our power to own a Porsche like the rapper?” This thought drove his creativity, his passion for cars, basketball, hip hop, fashion, and art, allowing him to create his vision of the car industry: forming the street style of automobiles, where one doesn’t need to own a fancy car to be part of the world.
Arthur spent four years working in the garages of Porsche in Paris but left at the age of 20, wanting instead to buy and drive his own cars. After some initial sales and work for others, he decided to go on his own and opened L’Art de l’automobile. The company’s name embraces three things: Arthur (his name), automobiles (his passion) and art (another passion that goes hand in hand with cars). One of the main reasons for walking his own path was that not many others understood his vision. He didn’t want to just buy and sell cars. For him, cars were much more, and he believed that the car industry could be as creative as the fashion one. He noticed that people at car shows and those who drove to his dealership with prestigious cars always had a similar sense of fashion. That’s when he realized that a clothing brand strictly linked to the car industry was missing, whether it be a t-shirt brand or general merchandise. That’s why he expanded L’Art de l’automobile into a clothing line, Kar-L’Art de L’automobile. KAR connects art, fashion, and cars. Cars, like clothing, are a way of self-expression for Kar, and that’s why his expansion into fashion made perfect sense. Kar believes that culture and cars are one. He has a passion for logos, and in particular, restaurant logos. He is known for purchasing merchandise such as t-shirts of restaurants that he visits and loves. The whole inspiration for the clothing line comes from street culture, reminiscent of childhood experiences like taking the car out to get ice cream.
Arthur is a man of passion; he is enthusiastic about many things and knows how to appreciate what he has, since he has worked hard to get to this current stage in his life. During an interview when fans asked Kar what his “recipe to success” is, he said that it is simply “hard work and finding your passion”.
In 2021 a very personal dream of Kar’s came true. He secured a collaboration with Porsche. Arthur Kar’s first job and lifetime passion merged with his current success to realize the Porsche 968 L’Art. This redesign of the 968 is low and sleek, based on the retro look of the early 1990s with a modern flair. It fits the street-style look of the brand and Arthur Kar himself. Additionally, they developed a special shade of green for the project and unique tail lights featuring ‘KAR’ lettering. The car was accompanied with a release of t-shirts and racing jackets, all debuting during Paris Fashion week in September 2021 — a nod to the connection between the industries that drove Arthur from the beginning.