Red Bull Racing reveals Sandown 500 retro livery

At the second annual retro round of the Supercars, HRT will debut a livery inspired by the Monaros and Toranas of the ‘60s and ‘70s.

GM Design Australia exterior manager Peter Hughes says he created the style to pay tribute to HDT while keeping the car looking modern.

“This livery is a direct throwback to the glorious years of Holden’s original factory racing team, which I’m confident the fans will love,” Hughes says.

“HDT’s 1971 GTR-XU1 Torana was drawn upon for the thick, simple red striping and placement of the historic Holden Lion on the c-pillar, combining it with the ‘70s Holden font on the rear quarter signage.”

Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup, who will be behind their respective wheels, both seem to be fans of the new look, despite neither of them having been around for the era they’re paying tribute to.

“I think our Commodores will look awesome, they’re so different to what we usually race, hopefully the fans like our throwback livery as much as we all do,” van Gisbergen says.

“I’m a bit too young to have seen the original HDT Monaros and Toranas racing, and I don’t even think Lowndesy was around back then, but I’ve been a Holden fan since I was a kid so it’s pretty special that we can now pay tribute to this historic era in our own way.”

Whincup, the three-time Sandown winner who will race with Paul Dumbrell, makes a case for the retro theme to keep punters’ spirits high, despite massive changes coming to the sport.

“To have a new livery on the car is exciting. We didn’t do one last year, so that makes it even more special for the team this time, but I hope we get to bust out the retro flat caps again,” Whincup says.

“I think the retro theme is a great way for both fans and competitors to celebrate the heritage of our sport and Sandown is the perfect place to do it. It has so much history and if it means we can keep racing there a few years longer, then I’m all for it.”

The Sandown 500 starts in Melbourne on the 15th of September.