Special Edition McLaren 750S pays homage to brand's Triple Crown success

McLaren has revealed a striking new 750S special project that acts as an ode to its achievement of winning the fabled ‘Triple Crown’ of motorsports.

Just six examples will be made altogether in both coupe and spider form, and each will feature slight variations of the commemorative theme.

Spoiler alert: they’ve all been sold already.

The unique ‘3-7-59’ paint scheme represents a stunning collision of the liveries worn by the three respective cars in question: the number ‘three’ M16D at the 1974 Indy 500; the number ‘four’ MP4/2 at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix; and the number ‘59’ F1 GTR at Le Mans in 1995.

The flowing multicoloured paintwork has been grafted by McLaren’s Special Operations (MSO) team. It has taken over 1,200 hours to complete and merges over 20 different colours and compositions.

For some perspective, that’s the same as working day and night for 50 days straight. The livery itself is a detailed collage of both the cars and the races, and drew inspiration from previous one-off commissions by the MSO team.

The front section of the car mimics Alain Prost’s Monaco Grand Prix-winning MP4/2. Sporting a red and white paint combination, the 750S features a ‘shattered’ imitation of the legendary F1 car’s look.

Meanwhile, the rear-end represents the M16D racer which claimed victory at the Indy 500 in 1974. Wearing a number three in blue and featuring the M16D’s bright yellow livery, the left rear three-quarter bridges the gap with a striking chequered flag. The opposite section has by contrast been given a blue ‘colour splash’ effect.

Bringing the whole look together across the flanks is a grey colour scheme and ‘59’ logo, acknowledging the F1 GTR’s triumph at Le Mans in 1995. McLaren has even added the bright green dot that signifies a vehicle’s entrance into the GT1 class of the show-piece 24-hour event.

The satin black Vortex alloys do conform to the look in subtle fashion but do very little to masquerade the glowing brake calipers that adopt all three of the main vinyl colours across them. Honestly, the more we look at this car, the more we’re convinced it would be the lead in a Need for Speed Underground remake.

Capping off the exterior modifications, McLaren has gone through the effort of incorporating three QR code sections into bits of the car, and when these codes are scanned, a webpage detailing the car emerges.

The point of this is so that confused onlookers will reach for their phones to grab a picture and will be greeted with a surprise webpage link in the process.

The Triple Crown references continue inside, with a selection of badges and orange stitching across the car’s headrests and central armrest. The seats have also received a new graphite Alcantara leather coat and are complemented by white stitching.

A painted 12 o’clock marker on the steering wheel can also be seen, while hand-painted carbonfibre shift paddles pay further tribute to the MP4/2.

What’s more, owners are also provided with a key fob that mimics the car’s design, ensuring that they’ll never be lost in a bowl full of keys at lavish parties - if that’s even a thing anymore.

Speaking on McLaren’s latest spin-off project, chief executive officer, Michael Leiters, said: “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 car has been unveiled by current McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Pato O’Ward, who are also joined by former driver Derek Bell at Velocity International, California where McLaren is celebrating its 60th anniversary.

STORY Shafiq Abidin