The 911 turned 60 this year and to celebrate Porsche gave us the S/T, a drool-worthy GT3 Touring fitted with most of the best bits from the RS, plus a manual transmission. McLaren also hits the big six-oh this year, but its low-key celebration is limited to three color options on the GT, Artura and 750S.
Those three colors do at least have special significance because they represent McLaren’s success in achieving motorsport’s Triple Crown – victory in the Indy 500, Monaco Grand Prix, and 24 Hours of Le Mans. Each of the 60th-anniversary color options is inspired by the colors worn by the cars that took the chequered flag in the three races.
First up is Indy Orange, which is an updated version of the bright orange worn by the M16D that won the Indy 500 in 1974. Next, there’s Monaco White, this one inspired by the base color (beneath all the promotional stickers) of the MP4/2 that claimed victory in the street circuit in 1984. And finally, we have Le Mans Grey, which commemorates the F1 GTR’s success in the 24-hour race in 1995.
Related: McLaren Arturas Go Drifting To Celebrate Brand’s 60th Birthday
You can apply any one of these colors to an Artura, GT, or 750S, but only the 750 can be further enhanced with a set of Triple Crown stripes. Sixty cars – one for each of McLaren’s years – will be produced with painted stripes that run up the frunk lid and across the rear deck and spoiler, plus Triple Crown logos on the nose and spoiler underside.
Other birthday bonuses include two new brake caliper colors, Indy Blue and Le Mans Gold, while cars ordered with gloss carbon fiber door mirrors can also have the 60th Anniversary ‘Speedy Kiwi’ logo applied to the mirror casings if the buyer chooses. Inside, there’s the option of an orange center line marker on cars fitted with carbon steering wheels and carbon gearshift paddles featuring the Triple Crown colors.
Every car ordered with some kind of 60th-anniversary option gets a brushed aluminum plaque, and that plaque will additionally feature a “1 of 60” engraving on the 60 examples of the 750S equipped with the Triple Crown stripes. We like ’em but do you think McLaren should have come up with something more special to mark its special birthday?
