McLaren hypercar honours Ayrton Senna with innovative paint scheme, unique face print
By: Double Apex
May is usually an emotional time for F1 fans of old. This May is even more so as it is the 30th anniversary of the passing of Ayrton Senna. To commemorate this event McLaren has produced Senna Sempre liveried versions of its Senna road car and the Formula One team will run in similar colours at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
The three-time Formula 1 World champion claimed all his titles and five Monaco Grand Prix victories with McLaren.
Bianca Senna, neice of Ayrton and CEO of the Senna Brand, said: “It’s an honour to recognise Ayrton through these liveries in collaboration with both McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive. It’s a fantastic way to celebrate his life and legacy through his iconic colours on both cars.
“McLaren meant a lot to him, and together they achieved a lot of success, much of which he is still remembered for today by so many. It will be special to see it race the streets of Monaco, a circuit which gave him so much joy and many triumphs.”
The two cars take inspiration from the triple champions famous helmet, which bore the colours of the Brazilian flag. The road car has dot matrix portraits of Ayrton and further Senna references on the exterior body panels.
The hand-painted tribute to Ayrton has been applied on a pre-production McLaren Senna from McLaren’s own heritage collection. The car will be on display at the F1 race taking place in the principality this weekend.
Click here to check out a McLaren P1 in the more iconic red and white of the Senna’s McLaren F1 cars
The one-off Sempre Senna bears the name of the Formula 1 driver and the ‘Double S’ logo alongside the McLaren badge. The Double S also features within the paintwork, as it does on the F1 car. The bright yellow, green and blue tones are brought together using a wash technique newly developed by MSO.
This technique allows the paints to blend into each other without creating any additional colours. It also creates the movement of a waving flag. On the panels shrouding the side air intakes there are two representations of Ayrton Senna. The dot matrix motif depicts him on and off track.
Inside, there is yellow Alcantara upholstery with green perforations and a white 12 o’clock marker on the car’s steering wheel. The sills of the black Alcantara upholstered doors are decorated with Ayrton Senna’s signature alongside his quotation explaining his ethic and philosophy; “I have no idols. I admire work, dedication and competence.”
* This article originally appeared on Double Apex and is used with their permission.