Gulf vs Martini Liveries Celebrated At The Concours of Elegance

Some of the greatest race cars ever to wear either the Gulf or Martini liveries are going into battle for concourse honours at Hampton Court and takes place from the 3rd to the 5th of September 2021.

The display contains a Targa Florio winner and a Le Mans legend from the 1970s as part of the near 1000 vehicle event.

This is the UK’s top concours event and is among the top three in the world and is famous for gathering some of the worlds rarest cars.

Gulf

The Gulf livery came to be due to the purchase of a Ford GT40 by Grady Davis the vice-president of Gulf Oil in 1966. Soon after he formed a long lasting friendship with the automotive race engineer John Wyer of JWA. This friendship led to a commercial partnership and one of the most successful liveries ever. The distinctive blue and orange colours becoming iconic in the Steve McQueen film Le Mans in 1971.

1970 Porsche 917

The Porsche 917K was the first to wear the Gulf livery and the car on display was the car campaigned in 1970 by Jo Siffert and Derek Bell at Sebring and by Richard Attwood and Herbert Müller at Le Mans where it finished second.

Due to a loophole in the FIA regulations the 917 had a 5 litre flat 12 engine mid mounted under a two door prototype closed body. Whilst very low the car was 15ft 6in long to help with high speed stability.

1971 Porsche 908/3

The next Gulf car is the smaller Porsche 908/3 which worked with the 917 through the 1971 season. This car was used for tighter winding courses such as the Nürburgring and the Targa Florio leaving the 917 was used at circuits that favoured higher power like Monza.

The 908 was little different from the 907 predecessor but evolved over the two years since introduction as the new rules in 1969 allowed for open or Spyder, cars. They also removed the minimum weight limit, so Porsche built a lighter version of the 908 as a Spyder. This car won Porsche’s first World Championship.

1975 Gulf Mirage GR8

The final of the Gulf cars on display is a 1975 Gulf Mirage GR8. This a much more aerodynamically efficient design than the earlier GR7. The GR8 had the famous Ford DFV V8 engine.

This was the car that gave Gulf the best chance of winning Le Mans since the 1971 race and the GR8 delivered in 1975.

Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx driving the GR8/801 added to the list of victories by taking the 24 hour race outright win, while the GR8/802 of Vern Schuppan and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud came home in third place.

The GR8/801 competed in Le Mans a further three times, later returning to its original Gulf colours.

The iconic Gulf livery in a Web story

Gulf The Most Iconic Livery Ever?

Martini

Martini Racing was the Italian team sponsored by the Martini & Rossi distillery, who produced Martini vermouth in Turin.

The race sponsorship began in 1958 with a distinctive livery with the dark blue, light blue and red stripes which were applied to white, red or silver cars.

1973 Targa Florio-winning Martini Racing Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Prototype

The 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Prototype is one of the most important 911s of all time winning the 1973 Targa Florio. Of course, with the famous Martini livery.

The car featuring in the display is chassis #911 360 0588, otherwise known as R6 by the internal numbering system used within the Porsche Racing Department at Weissach.

The car was originally a Group 4 spec racer and was later modified to Group 5 for later seasons. Since then, the car was restored to the original 1973 Targa winning specification.

1974 911 Carrera 2.1 RSR Turbo

Next to the 1973 RSR is the later 1974 911 Carrera RSR Turbo. A car immediately recognisable due to its huge rear wing and flared rear arches.

The RSR Turbo was responsible for helping Porsche’s reputation for turbocharged engines in motorsport. To use the car in the 3-litre class the flat 6 engine had to be reduced to 2.1 litres in size.

The calculation by the World Sports Car Championship’s governing body, the FIA, calculated a coefficient of 1.5 for turbocharged cars to help level the playing field against those that were normally aspirated.

Chassis R13 is the most successful of all the RSR 2.1s with a second place overall at the 1974 Le Mans 24 Hours with Herbert Muller and Gijs van Lennep in the driving seat.

1977 Le Mans Winning Porsche 936

The final Martini car is the 1977 Le Mans winning Porsche 936, sadly not pictured. That’s because it is still undergoing the final touches of its restoration.

Built in 1976 the 936 was created to compete in Group 6 of the World Sports Car Championship. The car won the 1977 Le Mans with Jacky Ickx putting in an incredible drive to make a spectacular comeback against the Renault of 11 laps.

Mercedes-Benz Race Transporter

With the Gulf cars there is also one of Mercedes-Benz race transporters. This has seen quite a lot of action, not just for the one team. the truck has been in Gulf colours and Martini liveries. This was the transporter for the JWA Automotive team for 1971 and wore the Gulf colours and carried the Porsche 917s to Le Mans including chassis 026 which is also at the show. This makes it an important vehicle in its own right.

After the time with JWA the transporter moved ton to wear Martini liveries as pictured, and Essex Petroleum and Rothmans colours right up to the era of the Porsche 962.

The vehicle has now been restored to its original Gulf livery which was re-discovered under several layers of paint. There is also another period correct Mercedes transporter at the show in Martini livery.

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In addition to the main displays there will be nearly 1,000 vehicles set in special features and displays. Bespoke a line-up of the finest coachbuilt Rolls-Royces.

Champagne is a feature of all good concours events and is provided by Charles Heidsieck, whilst the picnics are from Fortnum and Mason.

Live stage interviews will be taking place with collections of art, jewellery and fashion will be available to see. The event’s presenting partner, A. Lange & Söhne will be there to showcase some of its most intricate timepieces.

Tickets to the Concours of Elegance 2021 are available now, with full three-course hospitality packages from £288 and day tickets from £45.

Tickets can be bought from: concoursofelegance.co.uk/tickets