McLaren reveal eye-catching car
McLaren aim to dazzle their Formula One rivals after taking the wraps off their shiny new 2006 car.
The 2006 McLaren-Mercedes ditches the dour grey and black colour scheme in favour of a unique shiny chrome look.
McLaren hope the new car, which will again be driven by Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya, will help them attract more television coverage than ever.
Raikkonen was impressed by his first glimpse of his new machine.
He said: “I have only seen illustrations of the new livery until now but they do it no justice.
“It looks fantastic and should create a bit of a stir when we drive it on tracks around the world.
“If we can make the car as fast as it looks then we will be in good shape.”
Team-mate Montoya added: “Wow. What a beautiful looking car.
“I have obviously been testing the car quite a bit already but seeing the car like this is something else.”
German car makers Mercedes, famed for their 1930s Silver Arrows cars, own a share in McLaren and the UK-based team hope to shine for many years to come.
Marketing director Ekrem Sami said: “We are always looking at innovative ways to allow our sponsor partners to differentiate their brands from the competition through their partnership with the team, and this unique livery is designed to be extremely photogenic.
“McLaren-Mercedes had the highest audited ‘Share of TV Voice’ in 2005 – and we hope that this new identity will contribute to us retaining that status.
“What we have launched today is as revolutionary and we hope it will be the foundation of the team’s livery for many years to come.”
The new livery features a splash of red on the rear and front wings, creating space for Vodafone when they become title sponsor in 2007.
