Martinirossi Red

Martinirossi Red, the red stripe that closes the whole combination

The red is the most forceful of the trio of stripes and in the graphic it usually stands as the last, thinnest line. On a white ground it holds the whole drawing together; were it missing, the combination would fall apart into two blue surfaces with no emphasis. That is exactly why with this livery it pays to have the red in a tone that belongs with the blue stripes, and not any racing red at all from a palette.

From formula cars to rallying

The graphic did not end with the endurance cars. In the middle of the 1970s it was worn by the Brabham single-seaters in Formula 1, and toward the close of the decade it appeared on the Lotus cars as well. Its strongest mark, though, it left in rallying: Lancia won with it throughout the 1980s with group-class specials and with the Delta HF Integrale it took six consecutive titles in the makers' standings. On those cars the red is the best remembered line of the whole livery.

Who the color is for

• for builders of rally specials of the 1980s and early 1990s
• for admirers of formula cars of the 1970s
• for collectors who want to have all three stripes in uniform tones
• for modelers who are completing an older build with yellowed decals
• for anyone who wants a racing red tied to a particular livery

Before a build, go through photographs of the particular car and season, as the run and the width of the lines changed from year to year and the difference is visible on a model at first sight.