There are some pretty great racing liveries out there that inspire some pretty great road car imitations. The Ford GT looks appropriate in Gulf Blue, for example, and the Porsche 911 Dakar’s Roughroads-née-Rothmans paint option is phenomenal. Likewise, McLaren has lots of racing wins to commemorate via its roadgoing supercars – and why stick to just one when you can have three?
Enter the “750S With 3-7-59 Theme,” debuting today at the Velocity Invitational in Sonoma, California. The 3-7-59 takes its name from a triad of McLaren’s most significant race winners: Johnny Rutherford’s #3 M16D that won the 1974 Indianapolis 500, Alain Prost’s #7 MP4/2 that took the 1984 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, and the #59 McLaren F1 GTR driven by Yannick Dalmas to victory in the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. Comprising the Triple Crown, these three race wins are among McLaren’s most significant.
McLaren Special Operations says the multi-colored 3-7-59 takes 1,200 hours to paint. The front of this special 750S takes inspiration from the red and white F1 car from 1984 with a “shattered” effect surrounding the big 7 on the bonnet. The rear, meanwhile, takes its coloring from the yellow Indy 500 winner, although the racing car’s subtle blue accents are reborn as a splash graphic on the right rear corner. Both sides of the 750S are borne from the gray Le Mans–winning F1 GTR, blending into the front and rear sections with checkered flag motifs.
Satin black wheels sit in front of tri-color brake calipers – red, blue, and gold – and there are three QR codes on each colorway. Scan one, and it’ll take you to an information page detailing each respective race car. Another clever extra is the use of silver leaf for the Triple Crown logo on each door, patinated slightly to look competition-worn and authentic.
Inside, the seats also get an orange-stitched Triple Crown logo on the carbon bucket seats, and the emblem is debossed on the center armrest. The car’s distinctive exterior livery is also etched in carbon gray Alcantara onto the seats, with matching monochromatic paintwork on the carbon fiber door trim and steering wheel. The painted shift paddles wear the F1 car’s red-and-white motif, and the pedals wear with white, black, and orange Triple Crown stars. The coolest subtlety is the commemorative plaque found in the door jamb. It’s actually made from the red and white carbon fiber bodywork from a real Formula 1 car.
The hand-painted bodywork and specially selected materials add huge money to the McLaren 750S’ $329,500 base price – one McLaren representative said it would cost “north of $700,000.” But even if you have the cash to buy an MSO 3-7-59, you’re too late because all six examples of the special-edition car already have buyers.
Read the full article here