The Livery Carousel

[BassTrombone]

This is just an idea for a little forum game, which I think really suits this forum and we might even learn something from it... I hope! The idea is that you post one livery (a couple of photos), real or fictional, but not designed by yourself. You analyze it somewhat and tell the rest what you think about it. It may be a livery you like, one you absolutely do not like, one that stands out for some reason, etc. Before that, also say something about the livery that was posted in the post before yours.

So, it would become something like this:

<< Comment about the previously posted livery, but there is no previous post yet >>

The livery I picked is an underdog, and maybe a somewhat underrated livery: the 1991 Braun Tyrrell-Honda.



For me, this really is a livery with two faces. In the top picture, from the front, it looks absolutely brilliant, even if it is not too colourful. The blue sponsor logos give it a nice touch and the subtle red pinstripes work perfectly to divide the well-balanced dark grey and white areas. It all suits the elegant shape of the car so nicely.
Going to the side view, I still like the top half of it. The logos are all nicely placed and especially the Braun logo has been used smartly, providing just enough space for PIAA. The bottom half is where it goes wrong: it is simply too plain and too dark. This is even more dominant when seeing the car more from the rear, like in the last photo. The big red logo on the rear wing does not really help in making it look balanced as well.

So, all in all, from the front it is absolutely one of my favorite car-livery combinations of all time, but once you start rotating it, it all goes a bit "meh"...

I hope you like it and also make some efforts!

[MadRacer38]

I like this idea. Good way to see liveries we otherwise would not have seen (or would have forgotten) as well as getting a chance to see what each members preferences are.

1991 Braun Tyrrell-Honda.

Much the same as Bass, from the front it is quite a nice, tidy livery.

I'd prefer the blue sponsors to be black to tie in with the car, but it doesn't really bother me either.

The white line that goes the length of the car on the other hand...
The fact it strays away from the sidepods and narrows makes it look odd.

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Now I'm nominating a livery that I got a good look at earlier this year (since I took the photos )
2019 M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3 - Bathurst 12hr





My initial thought upon seeing the cars was that it was a disgrace. Messy, and boring.

However, I've come to quite like the design, particularly trackside.
It contours the shape of the big bad Bentley quite nicely and the green really does catch your eye.

I also like that Bentley still keep the big number in the grille, reminiscent of yesteryear.

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

I suspect that the colors of that Bentley work much better in real life and on TV than in pictures. Looking at the pictures, I get a nagging feeling that I've designed something like that and regretted it later. The splattery effect is what irks me the most; it makes the otherwise clean design look like a technical school practice job. I do like the lighter shade of green where it touches the black parts; in fact, I think that changing the splattery areas to solid dark green could improve the livery as it would allow the light green to stand out better.

I love the huge number on the grille!

...

My turn! It is Lorenzo Bertelli's Ford Fiesta WRC from the 2019 season:





There are two reasons why I'm posting this. The first one is that it's an interesting livery that few people get to see because it's driven by a hobby driver who rarely participates in rallies. The second reason is that it is a beautiful example of how to use chrome in a livery.

What is particularly interesting about this livery is that it really comes alive in harsh daylight, which is usually the worst lightning for a livery. That is when the chrome is at its most beautiful, and the red accent color comes to life brilliantly. Sometimes the chrome just seems to blend flawlessly into the black, like in the middle picture, creating a really stunning effect.

I wonder what the hell F*ckmatie is, though, and whether I even want to know.

[EchoKilo97]

I'll get on board for this...
I really like the livery WTF posted, clean, modern and those flashes of red balance the chrome and black so well. Agree that it looks stunning when the chrome blends with the black and continuing the red accenting into the sponsors was a stroke of genius. The designer needs a raise for sure!

So, what did I pick?
For me; it was simple... the 155 DTM car in the "Rosso Martini" livery!


And now why I went for this one. Very simply I hate it. Don't get me wrong it's a beautiful car from a fantastic era of motorsport and the soundtrack is heavenly. However, there are 2 major components to this livery that ruin it for me. Firstly, the stripes. I hate the Martini stripes, I spent a lot of time on BATRacer and subsequently on RuroRacing and (especially on BAT) every single season with custom liveries had the one guy in Martini stripes. They've become too iconic. I'm too young to have fallen in love with the stripes when they were first used, I've mainly seen them on homage liveries and whenever anyone says the words "design a retro livery" I just sigh and go "whelp, cue 40 Martini liveries then". The other component is the colour red. I know that's a bit of a big brush and I really don't tar every mainly-red livery with the same brush. I accept Ferrari, Alfa, Fiat etc are Italian manufacturers and their national racing colour is red. In that case, have at it. But as a kid who wasn't allowed to watch F1 because it was boring (I was born in the late 90's so I wanted to watch in the early 2000's) and as a kid who loved cars in a town where motorsport is barely talked about I spent a lot of time around people who thought every red car was a Ferrari and Ferrari was the reason I couldn't watch F1. And, again, I see so many examples of red racing cars it gets really old really quickly.

So in my head at least this is a dull Martini livery that has been made worse by taking away the white background to replace it with Martini's accent colour, red, which I hate as well. I get why they did it and I love to see a red Alfa with white sponsors and the big white Alfa logos but an even-more-red Martini livery boils my piss. Especially when it's on a car I would love to have as a wallpaper!

[BassTrombone]

I wholeheartedly disagree with EchoKilo on this one. A lot of sponsor liveries have become somewhat boring and repetitive over the years. The fact that the Martini stripes were always applied differently and were usually very well adapted to the shape of the car, prevented this (unlike Gulf, for example: Gulf has become boring). And this shade of red, I absolutely love it! So much more chic than the Marlboro red, for example. The design of this livery itself is nothing too much special, but still a solid effort with all logo placements nicely fitting the car.

So, I've picked something a bit more obscure this time... The Renault Dealer Team livery for the 2003 Renault Clio V6 Trophy.




I remember Dutch magazine Autovisie issued a design competition for this livery and this was the winner. It is a great way to display the colours of the Dutch flag and this is one of the few asymmetrical liveries that I actually like. It manages to still look clean and the colour split is nicely worked out with even the big retro-ish racing numbers. For me, this definitely is one of the few good liveries in a class where most cars looked bland, unbalanced, or even both.

[olilongi777]

BassTrombone brought here quite a really nice lower tier racing livery. Personally, from time to time, i like to see some asymmetrical liveries. This one is quite good, it represents somewhat the Dutch flag. Conversly, there are some things that makes me think and wonder. Orange rear wing kinda breaks the whole idea, i see that its the national colour, but... It doesnt belong to blue-white-red flag tricolor combination. Also, some logo placements kills my eyes, for exp. Michelin on the side and also the hood could be solved somewhat better.


I chosed probably the most known NASCAR livery, the Shell Pennzoil one.



Its not the most complicated livery. However, somehow the red-yellow combination works good like this for me. The red bottom of the car makes also the rear look "not empty", all the logos seems to be placed on the right spot. It kind of represents for me, that you dont have to use too many design patterns and lines and stuff to make a good livery, which is easily recognisable (good for the driver/team/sponsors), what is probably the most important thing.

[olilongi777]

Someone to continue?

[MadRacer38]

Alright.

One look and you know it is Shell (or Pennzoil in this case). That is first and foremost when it comes to Shell liveries in every category.
They have a distinct, clean professional look that is instantly recognisable and stick with it for years.

I like it even if it takes a bit of excitement out the off season, wondering what the new look will be.

Somehow, Yellow and Red on a car is obviously Shell but anywhere else and McDonald's pops in the mind.

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Now for the opposite of clean and simple.

2019 - Cam Hill - Carrera Cup Aus



What do you do when you have no major sponsor and are trying to gain attention in one of the countries most fiercely competitive categories?
Create one of the most eye-catching designs in the categories history, that's what.

This is creative freedom at it's finest and oozes cool vibes.
The uncommon colour choices and metallic finish also make it seem up-market whilst also just being a bit of fun.

I am a big fan of this car and this style of livery on cars (GEAR Racing Lambo, I'm looking at you).\.
But it is a polarizing look, so it will be interesting to see what others think of it.

[BassTrombone]

Well, that Cam Hill 911 certainly is something different! It reminds me of a pair of shoes I used to have, they looked something like this...

It's a cool livery with a lot of details everywhere. And because the details are everywhere, it somehow still looks coherent and balanced. Personally, I do usually prefer a more classic livery, but I definitely do not hate this. The biggest problem with it is whether the sponsors would actually be happy with it. The two big (and probably expensive) logos of Seears Workwear and Tony Farugia Bodyworks do not really stand out, for example.

Now, I'm getting this topic back to Formula 1 with a livery from the time smoking was still socially and commercially acceptable: the Gitanes Ligier JS11.







A gorgeous car with a gorgeous livery. Yes, the livery is greatly helped by the shape of the car, but if we reverse that statement it is also true. The livery really makes the car look more spectacular, yet still very easily recognized as a French car. I really think the Gitanes liveries should deserve as much praise as the Marlboro McLarens and the JPS Lotuses. The subtle lines really make the difference on this particular example. The thin red line adds a nice extra element to avoid making the car look bland and the white outline on the sidepod is exactly the accent the shape of the bodywork needs. Now, I've been nagging about empty areas quite a lot in the last competition, and actually this design suffers from the same issue. It would have been perfect with one more white logo right begin the driver's head. But still, if you ever visit a historic race, keep an eye out for this looker: she won't disappoint you!

[EchoKilo97]

That Gitanes Ligier is a pretty little machine indeed, I too really enjoy the subtle red line and it's a shame they didn't gt another sponsor to help fill the engine cover. Again, as you mentioned, the body and livery synergise really well and both serve each other beautifully.

I'm gunna stay with a classic looking livery that complements the car's body and say:
The Keating Motorsport Ford GT GTE Wynn's livery:


In my mind, this is everything a livery should be. At a glance you know who the main sponsor is, even if you can't read the logo, you know it's Wynn's. It complements the body shape with the orange and pink detailing going around the rear bodywork. Sponsor placement is amazing with the slight overlap of the classic Michelin logo (my favourite way to use Michelin, much better than the blue/yellow rectangular thing most teams use these days) and the positioning of the Tint World and Heel Tread logos. The attention to detail is amazing to the point where it looks like they matched the colours of the livery and the number plate.

A really pretty livery on a striking car and one I'd love to see again soon!