Hang on, is that a road car?
Yes, it's a 675hp McLaren 675LT, or 'Longtail.'
But is it wearing actual racing colours?
Yes, it is.
Isn't that a bit daft?
Normally, we'd agree, but in this case, we're giving McLaren a free pass. For a start, this is not some cheap vinyl wrap. This is a proper, serious paintjob, which took the McLaren Special Operations (MSO) team more than 1,000 hours to create, and 800 hours of that was just getting the paint on right.
So it's not cheap then?
No, presumably not. McLaren isn't saying how much it cost, but it was a special one-off thing for a doubtless exceptionally wealthy 675LT owner. He, and indeed McLaren, were inspired by the McLaren F1 GTR race car of the 1990s. Specifically the F1 GTR Longtail run by the GTC race team in 1997, which took second overall at that year's Le Mans 24hrs.
That car wore the iconic blue-and-orange of Gulf Racing, so once permission had been sought and given from Gulf itself, the MSO team got down to work.
"Creating a car like this unique McLaren 675LT, crafted to individual customer specification, is exactly the type of demanding commission that MSO Bespoke was formed to embrace," explained Ansar Ali, Managing Director, McLaren Special Operations. "Transforming the existing car from its original single colour paintwork to a tribute to the McLaren F1 GTR 'Longtail' in Gulf Racing livery was incredibly demanding in its own right, but was only part of the brief; we also replaced numerous standard 675LT components with MSO parts and further personalised the car to clearly identify it with its owner, a service that an increasing number of MSO customers request."
As well as the paint, MSO fitted this 675LT with dayglo orange 20-inch alloys, vented front wings and a GTR-style roof-scoop for the engine's air intake, all items from the MSO catalogue that are, in any case, inspired by the original GTR. Inside, there's Alcantara trim, lots of orange and blue highlights and the owner's initials stitched into the bucket seats.
Does this mean I can put a Castrol racing scheme on my Auris?
No. No, it really doesn't...
Neil Briscoe - 5 Jun 2018