MSO's most intensive project yet delivers six customer cars with spectacular 3-7-59 theme
By Matt Bird / Saturday, 11 November 2023 / Loading comments
We’ve become used to McLaren Special Operations creating some incredible V8 supercars over the years. The 60th anniversary was always going to require something a little more special than normal, however, and this is it: the McLaren 750S ‘with 3-7-59 Theme’. It’s been revealed at Victory International in California by Lando Norris, Pato O’Ward and Derek Bell, with just six to be made – they’re all spoken for, too.
Like the special edition options revealed recently, the 3-7-59 celebrates McLaren’s Triple Crown successes: the Indy 500, Monaco GP and Le Mans victories, which it achieved in 1974, 1984 and 1995. This car pays homage to all three liveries and race numbers, hence the name. Johnny Rutherford drove a orange M16D at Indianapolis with a ‘3’ roundel on the side, Alain Prost’s victorious white MP4/2 wore ‘7’, and the Le Mans-winning F1 GTR driven by Yannick Dalmas, JJ Lehto and Masanori Sekiya was ‘59’.
McLaren reckons this 750S ‘reflects the liveries of the three victorious cars and combines them into a vivid collage containing illustrated details of the three races and the cars that won them throughout.’ MSO spends more than 1,200 hours painting each one, and it’s far, far more than just orange, white and grey. There are more than 20 colours used for the livery, even including the green dot of the F1 GTR that marked it out as a GT1 entrant. Note as well the blue on the right hand side; inspired by the race number colour on the Indy winner, it’s created using a ‘vector process’, where an actual splash is scanned and then upscaled to be used on a car. There are four shades of blue used for a 3D effect. Easy to see where those hours have been invested.
There are three QR codes in the 3-7-59’s paint, too, each providing a link to websites with more info about each winner. The Triple Crown logo can be found all over, including stitched into the headrests, centre armrest, both lower doors (in silver leaf) – there are even Triple Crown stars on the pedals. The calipers are finished in blue, red and Le Mans Gold, in a further reference of the three Triple Crown winning cars. Should it ever slip your mind. And if it does, the key fob mimics the colour scheme of the car as well. Must have been another couple of hours there.
“As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of McLaren being founded, we of course reflect on our legacy of pushing boundaries, both in motorsport and more recently in supercar and hypercar excellence. The 3-7-59 Theme takes inspiration from both of these areas, as a showcase of extreme performance that pays tribute to our Triple Crown success. The most challenging project ever delivered by McLaren Special Operations is a truly stunning expression of McLaren’s industry-leading paint expertise, on a supercar that sets a new benchmark in its class”, said Michael Leiters, McLaren CEO.
Following the reveal at Sonoma Raceway, the six 3-7-59s – Spider and Coupe have been offered – will presumably be on their way to the lucky half dozen soon. A price hasn’t been issued, though when details extend to a dedication plaque made from the carbon fibre of an actual McLaren F1 car, this is going to be rather more than an expensive paint option. Probably best not take it through the car wash, either.
- McLaren marks 60 years with Triple Crown liveries
- ‘Peak supercar’ McLaren 750S officially unveiled
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