McLaren Special Operations recreates legendary Gulf livery for 720S

The association of British luxury automobile manufacturer McLaren and Gulf Oil International dates back to 1968. The companies came together from 1968 to 1973 for Formula 1 and Can-Am. The association was further revived in the 1990s with the GTC Competition team’s legendary McLaren F1 GTRs, with victory in the 1996 BPR Global Endurance Series and the GT1 Class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997. In 2021, McLaren’s in-house bespoke arm, McLaren Special Operation, has unveiled a bespoke Gulf Oil-liveried McLaren 720S resplendent with the brand’s iconic racing colours. The project is part of the renewed relationship announced last summer when McLaren confirmed Gulf’s return as an official strategic partner and demonstrated the personalisation possibilities available on McLaren’s supercars.

Photo Credit: McLaren Automotives

“This project is a showcase of MSO’s capabilities and echoes the recent full restoration of the McLaren F1 GTR 25R, a car raced in the 1990s. The 720S in such an evocative livery and interior finish, created in close association with Gulf, which perfectly shows the potential for our customers to work with MSO’s skilled team to personalise their McLaren.”, said, Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive

A limited number of customers will exclusively have the opportunity to have their McLaren supercars hand-painted by MSO in Gulf livery. The 720S revealed this week is the culmination of a joint project between MSO and Gulf to ensure a perfectly colour-matched range of paints in metallic and solid finishes that capture both of their unique identities. The famous McLaren steering wheel incorporates a centre band to match the exterior stripe in Gulf solid orange and Gulf solid dark blue on the visual carbon fibre spokes.

Photo Credit: McLaren Automotives

“The 720S in Gulf colours celebrates two high-performance brands who draw on a deep automotive and racing history that have embarked on a new strategic partnership to excite customers and fans around the world.” said Mike Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Oil International. “McLaren is a brand that shares our future aspirations and our ambition for innovation, and we look forward to developing our relationship further in the years to come.”, he continued.

Photo Credit: McLaren Automotives

The 720S remains the benchmark supercar; with a twin-turbocharged McLaren V8 engine producing up to 720PS and 770Nm of torque, it can accelerate to 100km/h (62mph) from standstill in just 2.9 seconds and has a maximum speed of 341km/h (212mph). Having trialled several iterations to create the perfect finish from McLaren Automotive paint technology partner AkzoNobel’s exhaustive pallet of premium automotive paint hues, the definitive version alone is the product of 20 days of work by MSO’s craftsmen and women.

In addition to the iconic racing blue and orange colours, MSO has echoed the Gulf solid orange colour on the brake callipers. The bespoke interior of this 720S features matching blue and orange stitching with Gulf logos embroidered on the headrests and painted on the sills.