McLaren has revealed its most ambitious and exacting bespoke livery to date, the astonishingly complex 3-7-59 Theme. Realised by the McLaren Special Operations (MSO), the Theme was showcased on a very special McLaren 750S supercar and unveiled by McLaren F1 driver, Lando Norris, McLaren IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward, and former McLaren F1 driver Derek Bell. The 3-7-59 is a tribute to McLaren’s unique success in winning motorsport’s unofficial ‘Triple Crown’ of victories at the Indianapolis 500, the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Requiring more than 1200 hours to paint, six customer cars wearing unique variations of the 3-7-59 Theme will be created, all either a 750S coupe or Spider, and all already sold. The 3-7-59 Theme name is a reference to the race numbers worn by the victorious McLarens in each of the three Triple Crown victories: the ‘3’ on the M16D driven at the 1974 Indy 500 by Johnny Rutherford; the ‘7’ from Alain Prost’s Monaco winning 1984 McLaren MP4/2; and the ‘59’ as displayed on the McLaren F1 GTR driven to victory at Le Mans in 1995 by Yannick Dalmas, Masanori Sekiya and JJ Lehto.

The front of the car itself takes inspiration from the white and red livery of the McLaren MP4/2, with that car’s ‘7’ race number worn on the bonnet and subtly integrated into the expressive ‘shattered’ interpretation of the F1 car’s livery. Both sides of the 3-7-59 are an homage to the 1995 Le Mans winning McLaren F1 GTR, with its grey colour scheme and ‘59’ race number, and even the bright green dot displayed on the car to denote its participation in the GT1 class of the famous 24-hour race.

Other exquisite details within the paintwork that recount McLaren’s Triple Crown story include hidden ‘easter eggs’ that reference to the cars that won the races, the selected years that McLaren has been triumphant at a Triple Crown event, and the evolution of McLaren’s logo from the original McLaren Racing crest to the ‘Speedmark’ used today.

Taking inspiration from the McLaren M16D, the rear third of the 3-7-59 Theme is predominantly matched to the orange colour of the 1974 Indy 500 winner, but like the race car itself wears the number ‘3’ in blue. On the side featuring the M16D’s race number, the orange paint transitions into the F1 GTR’s grey scheme through a swirling chequered flag effect, painted with incredible attention to detail.

On the other side of the car, a twist has been applied using a new technique developed by MSO: a striking blue ‘splash’ inspired by the colour of the race number and created using a vector process bursts across the car. This process uses a scanned splash created on canvas as a template for the paint effect, which is then upscaled. The use of four shades of blue within the splash give it a three-dimensional look, despite remaining completely flush with the surface of the car.

McLaren's 3-7-59 Theme