Gulf Oil is not the giant it used to be, but its livery will go down in history as one of the most recognizable in motorsports. The sky-blue and orange arrangement has blessed some of the most legendary race cars ever made – the Ford GT40, Porsche 917, McLaren F1 GTR “Long Tail”, Aston Martin DBR1-2, and Porsche 911 RSR. Now, McLaren is bringing back some of that glory in the form of a limited-edition McLaren 720S, wearing the Gulf livery.

Car collectors are mad about anything with a Gulf livery, so McLaren and Gulf Are cleverly capitalizing on this.

McLaren first partnered with Gulf Oil between 1968 and 1973 in Formula One. The connection was re-established in the 1990s with the GTC Competition team’s McLaren F1 GTRs. The same team scored victories at the 1996 BPR Global Endurance Series, as well as the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans, in GT1 Class. In 2020, Gulf was chosen by McLaren as their lubricant supplier. This includes engine oil and high-performance fuel.

McLaren Special Operations (MSO) is responsible for producing the 720S Gulf edition. McLaren will offer the livery as a personalization option for its customers. However, this will be available for a certain number of vehicles. The McLaren 720S Gulf will be a limited edition after all. The legendary livery takes 20 days to be applied to the 720S, as it is hand-painted.