| The long-awaited unveiling last week of McLaren’s MCL33 had the team’s fans dancing in the street as they embraced the winds of change blowing through Woking. While a return of the ‘papaya’ was largely anticipated, thanks to McLaren’s numerous teases, to what degree was unknown, with pundits suggesting a dab here and there or perhaps even a larger proportion.
In the end, McLaren went the whole nine yards, with a striking livery, representative of the legacy of pioneer and trail blazer Bruce McLaren. “The unique papaya livery is an overt statement of the team’s next chapter, and symbolic of McLaren at its simplest, purest form: that of racers,” commented the team upon the MCL33’s launch. “It reflects the essential qualities that have remained constants for McLaren throughout its history and are intrinsic to its future.” Recently, McLaren executive Zak Brown insisted the company’s name and brand would be brought to the forefront, taken to the next level and isolated from the whims of commercial sponsorship, just as Ferrari ensured the survival of its coloring through the decades. It’s likely therefore that the ‘papaya’ is therefore here to stay, but why is it so important to McLaren? The color was first seen on the McLaren M6A Can-Am racer in 1967, and by most accounts it was simply chosen as a marketing ploy, to help Team McLaren’s cars stand out better on America’s then new color television. McLaren’s massive success in North America, achieved thanks to Bruce and Denny Hulme’s efforts, put the vibrant tint on the map and became McLaren’s signature color, featured on its Can-Am, Indycar and F1 winning machines. The McLaren orange eventually faded away however as motor racing ushered in the rule of corporate sponsorship and big money that went with it, but it remains the memorable complexion associated with a period of outstanding engineering and success. On the eve of a new dawn, it is only fitting for the custodians of McLaren’s heritage, as they embark on a new quest for success, to return to the team’s roots, firmly entrenched in a papaya field of dreams. Phillip van Osten |
