primotipo…

McLaren ‘owned’ the color papaya and having created brand recognition many marketers can only dream about walked away from the distinctive orange hue…

Bruce McLaren Motor Racing broke through in the 1967 Can-Am Series where Bruce and Denny crushed the opposition with the fabulous M6A Chev, a joint McLaren and Robin Herd design collaboration.

Modern marketing started in the US. In trying to create cut through or pop on then new colour telly the McLaren hierarchy, Teddy Mayer in particular is credited with choosing the distinctive shade which defined the marque until the Yardley McLaren era of 1972.

The M6A gave its sponsors a fair crack of the whip, the 1967 colour stuck and was subsequently adopted on the factory Can-Am, F1, F2, F5000 and Indycars until the early seventies.

The photo below is of more significance than I first realised, my friend Derek Kneller recalls. ‘I joined McLarens as a fabricator having worked in the experimental department of Hawker Siddeley on the P1127 (Hawker Harrier vertical take off fighter) on 26 March 1968. One of my first tasks was to prepare this car for its first tests with the ‘ally big block 7-litre Chev. I worked through the weekend with Wally Willmott and and Gary Knutson to get the car ready. We essentially hacked the back off the M6 and grafted the rear of the proposed 1968 M8 onto the car.’

‘The photo shows, left to right, Denny, Gary Knutson partially obscured, Teddy Mayer, Phil Kerr and Bruce. Wally is in the blue shirt and Jo Marquhart to the right in the suit with overcoat. They are supervising the mule M6A/2 at Goodwood on 24 April 1968. Gary Knutson and Colin Beanland built the engine at Al Bartz’ shop in Los Angeles, it’s losing oil which is the reason for the concerned faces.’ George Begg, McLaren confidante and Kiwi racer/car builder took the photo.

The papaya M6 rather contrasts with the dull, rolling Sussex hills in the background and the flash pit-counter in the foreground!

David Hodges records in his Profile Publications article on the McLaren M8, that after this chassis was used in these tests and later aerodynamic work, it was returned to M6 specification and then sold.

Until Yardley’s arrival on the side of the M19 a swag of sponsors logos sat comfortably on McLarens against the gorgeous, distinctive from afar, shade.

Lotus, the leader in so many aspects of racing showed the power of wholistic F1 branding of a racing car with the fag packet livery Gold Leaf Team Lotus, Lotus 49s which first appeared in the Wigram, New Zealand round of the Tasman Series on 20 January 1968. Jim Clark raced – just – in the early months of the year in the ‘modern advertising era’.

Of course the Americans had refined the art (advertising on racing cars) for 50 years before the rest of the world caught up, or regressed, depending upon your view of it. You cannot imagine Cadbury abandoning purple yet McLaren walked away from a signature colour which defined their cars in a most distinctive way. I’m not suggesting Bruce and the boys had as much brand equity in papaya as Cadbury in purple but you get my drift.

Ferrari of course are the prime example of a marque who ‘own red’. Their sponsors have always obtained the coverage sought against a red background rather than Ferrari adopting the packaging of their corporate partner of the season or decade!

In more recent times papaya has staged a comeback appearing on the McLaren F1 GTR LeMans car, occasionally as an F1 testing colour and as a favoured choice on its exotic road cars…

Credits…

Rainer Schlegelmilch, Alvis Upitis, Getty Images, Fox Photos, Bob D’Olivo, Michael Cooper, reddit.com, George Begg, Ian Peak Collection/The Roaring Season, Duncan Fox, Derek Kneller, David Hodges ‘The McLaren M8 Series’

Tailpieces…

McLaren F1 GTR set against the Dunlop Bridge at Le Mans in 1996.

Victorious papaya blur, Bruce on his way to a win at Spa in 1968, McLaren M7A Ford. While the model may be in doubt, the marque is not…

Finito…