Legendary McLaren race cars to take over Petersen Museum

The Color of Success: McLaren’s Papaya Livery exhibition at the Petersen Museum will highlight the company's famous motorsport paint scheme.

Petersen McLaren F1 Exhibition

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles will open a new exhibition dedicated to McLaren later this month.

Titled “The Color of Success: McLaren’s Papaya Livery”, it focuses on key moments in the company’s six decades of racing history

In particular, the cars on show will be those that have worn the iconic McLaren Papaya orange livery on-track.

Modern McLaren history and more

Petersen McLaren Exhibition

The newest car on display will be the McLaren MCL33, used by the team to compete in the 2018 Formula One World Championship.

It marked a return to use of the Papaya color scheme, but was a season to forget for the McLaren team. Even with two-time World Drivers’ Champion Fernando Alonso at the wheel, fifth position would be the best finish achieved by the car. 

Alonso subsequently retired from Formula One at the end of the 2018 season, until making a surprise return in 2021. 

The MCL33 on display at the Petersen was driven by Alonso at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It features blue, yellow and red stripes to honor his home region of Asturias in Spain.

Historic winners on display

Petersen McLaren Exhibition

Also on show will be the 1967 M6A, developed by company founder Bruce McLaren in just 11 weeks. 

Powered by Chevrolet V-8 engines, the M6A would become a dominant force in Can-Am competitions. This included winning the 1967 Can-Am Cup.

McLaren’s dedication to a wide array of competition is demonstrated by the M16. It was a hugely successful design, winning the Indianapolis 500 three times between 1972 and 1974. 

The new exhibition will open on June 18 2022, and will be situated in the Petersen’s Charles Nearburg Family Gallery.

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John Redfern
John Redfern
U.S. Editor with a love of all things Americana. Woodgrain-clad station wagons and ridiculous muscle cars a speciality.

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