Racing car livery design is an essential part of motor sport design and motorsport history – in this series of blogs we will feature some of the most iconic racing car livery designs ever to take to the track. The featured liveries and designs are not in a ‘top ten’ or in any order of merit… purely our choice of the most powerful graphic designs in automotive competition history. Some are well known to motor racing fans around the World but many of those we will feature have become ‘household’ names – recognised by the brand image they portray more than the achievements on track… delivering the sponsor’s logos into the homes and minds of people who have never and, more than likely, will never be a willing spectator. The colours and shapes that adorn the vehicles and athletes in motor racing are the modern equivalent of heralds and crests of the joust – striking, memorable and unique to each team/sponsor. To some a garish high speed billboard – to others a beautiful harmony of colour, design and speed.
Martini has been one of the most recognised racing car liveries for many years – from the 1970s with stunning designs on Le Mans Porsche cars, Formula One Grand Prix with Brabham, Lancia in rally and Group C and most recently the Williams Formula One team in F1 to give just a few examples. Martini is also one of the brands to extend their awareness to trackside hoardings at Monaco, Spa Francorchamps and Le Mans amongst other circuits. The evocative and seductive ‘Martini stripes’ that flow and follow the lines of the bodywork have stayed true to the brand and have become ‘timeless’ – so much so that the brand name doesn’t have to be seen for spectators and viewers to immediately associate the ‘stripes’ with the Martini brand… this is an extraordinary illustration of how powerful (and valuable) branding and graphic design is in sports marketing.