German/Reference name: gulforange

Paint code: 019

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Gulf Orange (019/gulforange) goes back to 1972 with Porsche. We’ve talked about Gulf Blue elsewhere, so let's talk about these two colors as a pair. Specifically: Why does the Gulf livery work so well? There’s actually been a fair amount of speculation and discussion on this topic. One of the reasons these historic colors work so well is because Gulf’s decision to use the colors from their Wilshire Oil acquisition makes the resulting livery closer to equiluminant. That is to say, even though the colors differ in hue, they have closer luminosity (“brightness”) levels in comparison with Gulf’s own corporate blue and orange combination. The decision to go with these colors had multiple unique effects on the appearance of the livery. First, the bright and near complimentary colors makes the livery stand out -especially if set against a sharply contrasting background. Second, and more interestingly, the near equiluminant colors creates a natural tension. It’s caused by how the brain “sees” the world and it’s an effect that artists have understood for some time. For example: the sun in Monet's Impression, Sunrise is nearly equiluminant with its background. This leads to some observers seeing drama and even movement where it doesn’t actually exist. It’s an effect that was almost certainly unintentional when Gulf went to a bright light blue and orange livery, but it was very impactful nonetheless. Over time, formulas and even color representations have evolved, but when you see the words Gulf Orange and Gulf Blue, there’s a reason why you instantly know the livery. Not only does it have an incredible history but it is also technically unique, making its component colors each iconic slices of both racing history and motorsport art.