Here's a colour that I don't think about very often in relation to cars - among the few subjects matters than I can discuss with some remote sense of confidence. It's the colour of the sun, as its rise blinds me to oblivion, and its fall reminds me that it's high time to crack open a bottle of wine. It's the colour of egg yolks, those that I cracked open, beaten, and whisked to a pulp until its existence turns into a nice serving of scrambled eggs. It's the colour of butter, as its ever firm cow-extract melts into a soft liquid, screaming for its life as I scrape it onto a burning layer of toasted bread.
Honestly, those are the only yellow-y things that I can remember fondly at the top of my head, at least not counting the Number Ones, although my body has been supplemented with a sufficient supply of water to maintain optimal operations. Not in the first call of the morning however, but let's not talk more about things we don't want to know about. Some people have their absolute favourite colours, while others are more malleable, choosing this or that depending on their mood, or the particular season. I'm of the latter, and it changes from time to time, and depending on the object.
Credits to: Classic Driver - 288 GTO
The Yellow Fever.
Credits to: Maserati MC12, Ferrari F40 LM, Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm, and Lotus Exige V6 | Victory Blue, Rosso Corsa, Rosso Alfa, and British Racing Green.
Among the many colours that I tend to favour painting cars with - black, grey, green, red, blue, and white - I've not often considered yellow before. I don't quite know why, but I prefer either darker colours to make cars more subtle in their appearance, or bolder hues to better accentuate its design. Sometimes, it has all to do with the association that I make with a particular brand, or set of cars. Ferraris and Alfa Romeos are Red, Maseratis in Blue, Aston Martins and Lotuses in Green, just to name a few.
Today however, I started seeing pictures of gorgeous yellow cars en masse on social media - perhaps a targeted medium of psychological warfare, or an attempt to catfish me? Suddenly, I've been struck with the yellow fever, and the good sort mind you. We live in a world where cars are steadily becoming more monochrome, and statistically, most cars sold these days are greyscale in colour. We've always wondered as to where all the cheerfulness and joy went to, when cars came in turquoise, purple, and orange? Yellow is a good medium, between the bolder reds, or the difficult-to-keep-clean whites. It's also a happy colour, one that warms your heart as you see it.
Credits to: Aston Martin DBRS9, and Aston Martin DBR1 | New and old - Aston Martin Racing Green.
Here's what caused my sudden urge to paint the world in yellow, coming from none other than Aston Martin. This is a truly British company, and in that quintessentially stiff upper lip, I've always imagined them to adorn darker, more understated colours. That's by no means a bad thing, since if you have a physique that is as shapely as Astons always are, then any colour will look good on it. The typical blacks, greys, and silvers ought to be a common enough association with James Bond, with his Astons looking ever sharper than his Saville Row-tailored suits.
I told myself, that if I was ever going to get an Aston Martin, it would be in green. In the realm of motorsports, the different nations of Earth wanted national colours to coat their race-cars, as a way to show common unity and pride. The Italians took Red, the French did Blue, and the Germans either chose White or Silver. With the British now unable to take any of the Union Jack's colours, they instead took inspirations from the greenery of the countryside, as green as the grass on other side. From the iconic British Racing Green, Aston Martin had their own spin on it, imaginatively naming it AM Racing Green.
Credits to: Roger Moore's Aston Martin DBS | Just look at how yellow-y good that is!
Today however, I saw an Aston Martin shine in a unique heritage colour that is called Bahama Yellow. This old shade of a bananas was popularised by its appearance on an old DBS, which had a starring role in The Persuaders. It's a TV show from times past, starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore fighting baddies in style. Moore's experience with Astons would later prove handy as he was casted to play Bond. In any case, it's a very nice colour, and one with a slight papaya-orange tint to it.
This isn't the only case of Bahama Yellow that I saw today either. Another example appeared in the form of a DB6, in itself an iteration of the achingly beautiful DB5. After a staggering 4,500 hours worth of restoration work, this retiree now lives on in great condition, supposedly the only Mk.1 DB6 to be painted in this hue. The other is a Vantage GT12, made to be the ultimate track-car, powered by a howling naturally-aspirated 6.0-litre V12. It has more accoutrements than a regular Vantage, with strict attention to weight-saving and aerodynamics. That's a stark contrast to the cheerful colour, painted in a uniquely metallic finish of Bahama Yellow, letting it shine and sparkle under the sun.
Credits to: Aston Martin DB6, and Aston Martin GT12 | A classically glossy, compared to metallic yellow.
There are two more examples of cars today that I saw in various other shades of yellow. I wonder how many times have I mentioned the word 'yellow' so far? Next, we have a classically wonderful little Alfa Romeo, and in this case more special than others. It's a Zagato Junior - so called as it was based-off the Junior specification of entry-level Alfas, and was then sent to Zagato, who had designed the coach-built body you see here.
It's the lightweight, beautiful, and cheerful sports car that history has forgotten, produced in a small production run through the mid-1970s. This does look similar to Alfa's Giallo Ocra, a historic colour that's painted from the covered headlamps in front, and the sharp Kamm-tail at the back. It's quite a refreshing change from all the red and white Alfa Romeos that are commonplace.
Credits to: Alfa Romeo Zagato Junior, and Alfa Romeo Zagato Junior | Tell me this isn't beautiful, I dare you.
Then there's this, the famous Ferrari 365 GTB4 Daytona. Despite ground-breaking cars like the Miura having come to the market, and ever more rivals are turning to mid-engine designs, Ferrari stuck to their guns and evolved what they did best - front-engine, V12 grand-tourers. It's practically usable and an excellent cruiser to trek many miles in, while simultaneously seeing dropped jaws around you.
There's a reason why I don't prefer yellow paintwork for Ferraris, as it's simply due to the trivial matter of that famous Prancing Horse badge. The rectangular Ferrari emblem, and the Scuderia shields on the side-fenders have a yellow background. This contrasting effect is lost once you have the car painted in yellow as well, but in this case, I can forgive it. The Giallo Fly paintwork brings an aura of light-heartedness to an otherwise serious gentleman's cruiser.
Credits to: Ferrari Daytona, and Ferrari Daytona Group IV | Daytonas in their civilian, and racer guises.
Well, there it is. A short and nonsensical story of how I suddenly became enamoured with the colour yellow for cars. Probably not a very interesting read, but it does smack me with amazement that in the two and a quarter decades since I've been alive, I never thought much about yellow. It's an underrated colour, and if you'll excuse me, I now have the immediate urge to decorate everything in yellow. I'd start with my skin, but I'm already yellow, though with a mocha tinge added for effect.
I hope you've found this enjoyable, or somewhat distracting in a good way. More cars are coming soon, and hint - of all the cars pictured here, two of them may make a reappearance.
Thanks for reading! For more updates on my blogs, or the more minute things in life, feel free to follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Medium, and maybe give a shout there as well!
