German/Reference name: gulfblau
Paint code: 328
Models and Years:
911:1972-1975
Gulf Blue (328/gulfblau) is a legendary color with an incredibly rich history. Gulf Blue is the blue from the Gulf Oil company’s historic racing liveries. But Gulf Oil did not always race in this color. While Gulf Oil had been involved in motor racing since the 30s, it was actually in the 60s that Gulf Blue would be made famous. This happened when the Gulf company felt that their brand colors were too muted, so they decided to utilize the colors of Wilshire Oil Company, which they had acquired in 1957. Two early examples of Gulf Blue that cemented this color’s legendary status with Porsche: the 917 and the 911 IROC RSR. Books could be written on these giants and their liveries, but briefly: The 917 was a winning Porsche race car. It gave Porsche its first wins at the Le Mans 24 hour race with 1-2 finishes in both 1970 and 1971, starting what would become the most winning record in Le Mans for any manufacturer. This is a machine that made a name for itself internationally when race cars were insane; we’re talking top speeds of over 240mph without the knowledge of aerodynamics that we have today. This was a time when drivers were a slightly different breed which takes us to the 911 IROC RSR. IROC stands for the International Race of Champions. Basically, back in 1973, races were held with the champions from different race series around the world. These champions all competed in the same cars, you guessed it - 911 Carrera 3.0 IROC RSRs. Sounds like the stuff of legends right? Indeed- Gulf Blue and each of the 14 other colors chosen for these 911s would instantly become iconic. I could go on, but this is all just one slice of the immense history that any Porsche wearing Gulf Blue represents.
