MOTOR

Legendary Liveries

CASTROL TOYOTA

Tom’s Castrol-sponsored JGTC Supra race

car, powered by a four-cylinder engine, shot

to fame when it featured as the hero car for

PlayStation’s fi rst Gran Turismo. This white,

red and green partnership between two

automotive industry giants made its way to

the World Rally stage too, on the bodywork of

Toyota Team Europe’s Corollas and Celicas.

GULF WYER

Gulf-liveried cars dominated sports car racing

during the ’60s and early ’70s. The success

was the work of John Wyer, a gifted engineer

and team manager, while the colours were

chosen by his sponsor Gulf Oil. The partnership

fi rst appeared on Wyer’s Ford GT40 in 1967,

but was made famous in Le Mans, by which

time Wyer had taken Gulf with him to Porsche.

JPS LOTUS

The partnership that started it all: not just the

relationship between cigarette company and

race team, but commercial sponsorship itself.

It began with the Red Leaf Lotus 49 and was

later defi ned by the championship-winning

black and gold 72. Today the colours seen on

the Lotus Formula One car are a nod to the

great success of Lotus’s JPS years.

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It’s what’s on the inside that counts... well, not entirely. These classic colour

schemes prove a car’s clothing can be vital to defining its identity

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byAIDEN TAYLORpics GETTY IMAGES/TOYOTA

THE WEIRD WORLD OF CARS

NEXT ISSUE OF MOTOR IS ON SALE MARCH 5. Two kings of Aussie muscle unleashed. And three models go topless.

SILK CUT JAGUAR

Who knew purple and orange would go so

well together? To be fair, the XJR-9 was always

going to look better than Megan Fox holding

a plate of strawberries next to a chocolate

fountain. Tony Southgate salvaged its design

from a stillborn project for Ford’s C100. It was

fast too, pipping the Porsche 962 at the 1988

Le Mans for fi rst place.

MARLBORO MCLAREN

Arguably the most successful colour scheme

in motorsport history. The red and white

F1 cars brought Ayrton Senna his fi rst title

and McLaren seven driver’s championships

between 1984 and 1991. Featuring in the

sport’s dramatic turbo era, these machines

also gave fans one of F1’s greatest rivalries

between Senna and Prost.

MARTINI LANCIA

The Martini motorsport livery has started to

make a comeback of late, featuring on the

Williams F1 cars along with recent Porsches.

However, the blue and red stripes were made

most famous on Lancia’s legendary Group

B beasts, starting with the 037 and then the

Integrale. Fun fact: the 037 was the last two-

wheel drive car to win a world rally title.

STP NASCAR

Where would NASCAR be without the

great Richard Petty? Drivers would still be

bootlegging moonshine and running from

the fuzz. The man referred to as ‘The King’

has been connected with STP since 1972.

The motor oil logo still features on the two

Richard Petty Motorsports NASCAR racers

at every event.

ROTHMANS PORSCHE

Porsche’s prototype racers dominated the

gruelling Le Mans 24-hour race during the

’80s. The 956, wearing Rothmans stickers,

won in ’82 and in ’83 the entire top eight were

956s – with the factory Rothmans cars fi rst

and second. Its successor, the 962, continued

the winning streak until ’88 when the Jaguar

XJR-9 palmed Porsche to second place.

555 SUBARU

Forget cheese and biscuits, or strawberries

and ice cream, nothing goes together quite like

a blue Subaru WRC car with lashings of fl uoro.

With WRC legend Colin McRae in the driver’s

seat the ‘555’ Subaru was one of the the most

iconic cars in rally history. In 1995 it took the

championship win and awarded Great Britain

its fi rst WRC title.

146 march 2015 motormag.com.au