By Adam Ferraresi, December 20, 2018
It looks awesome in this classic F1 inspired decal, why didn’t McLaren do this before? OK so McLaren have released yet another MSO limited edition painted McLaren. The McLaren Marlboro P1 GTR dons classic 80s cigarette livery, marking Ayrton Senna’s maiden F1 championship with the team.
Ayrton Senna requires little introduction. Neither does the £1m-plus McLaren P1 GTR, the top tier of McLaren Automotive’s hypercar offering. Cigarette advertising has been banned from F1 since 2006 and will never make a comeback. During the ’70s, 80’s and 90’s Marlboro was the premier sponsor to be with for F1 teams.
And McLaren F1, one of the dominant teams in the ’80s and early ’90s and sometimes in the 2000s, had the prime pick of cigarette sponsorship.
The Marlboro red and white color scheme is synonymous with McLaren and Ayrton Senna. Although the morality of selling death to consumers was overlooked at the time for the sake of money.
But that’s a discussion for another time. Whatever the many cons of cigarette advertising in F1 the Marlboro livery is one of the classics in F1 history.
And now it is reborn for 2018 in the form of the McLaren P1 GTR. It celebrates 30 years since Senna won his first F1 title with McLaren.
The car was commissioned by a McLaren collector who was inspired by Ayrton Senna from a young age and wanted to create a tribute that echoed the Brazilian’s trademark perfectionism.
Working in close collaboration with the MSO team over the past three years the owner oversaw every detail of the project.
More than 800 hours were spent on painting and other external points include Senna’s 1988 race number ‘12’ on the nose.
Bespoke 30th anniversary laurels behind the side windows and discreet branding acknowledging a range of McLaren technical partners past and present.
Christened ‘Beco’ (Ayrton Senna’s nickname) by the owner the car has a unique engine specification complemented by a 24ct gold heatshield.
Working in combination with the electric motor in the McLaren P1 GTR, with its hybrid powertrain, results – according to the owner – in a “suitably pleasing’ increase in power”.
