Exploring the MSO palette: Comparing McLaren’s bespoke paint colors

Oranges: The heart of McLaren

McLaren’s orange spectrum is iconic, reflecting the brand’s racing heritage while offering modern variations for a more personalised touch. Arranged here from darkest to lightest, the swatches show noticeable differences in hue, depth, and metallic effect.

First image:

• Volcano Orange
• Mira Orange
• Helios Orange
• Tarocco Orange
• Myan Orange

As you can see the first colors are on the darker end of the orange spectrum with Volcano Orange almost appearing red here next to the brighter shades of orange.

Second image:

• Ventura Orange
• McLaren Orange
• Anniversary Orange
• Papaya Spark

These are the more iconic shades tied to the McLaren brand, with McLaren Orange carrying the most history and even the brand name. Notice the similarity between McLaren Orange and Papaya Spark: both are based on the original papaya orange used as McLaren’s team color in 1967, with the difference being that Papaya Spark features a metallic finish.

More information about each paint can be found on their respective pages on our website (accessible via the link on the paint itself where available).

Reds: As dark as black to as bright as orange

• Nerello Red
• Volcano Red
• Mars Red
• Corsa Red
• Delta Red

Nerello Red is the darkest, often appearing as a black paint especially in low light. Volcano Red begins to reveal a brighter, fiery hue While Delta Red is almost more orange than red.

Yellows

• Solar Yellow
• Volcano Yellow
• Acid Yellow
• Sicilian Yellow
• Solis

Solis is the stand-out here, seemingly containing no yellow pigment as seen here next to the more traditional yellows. The unique color was introduced on the 675LT Spider as communication color.

Greens

First image:

• Green Ivy
• Laurel Green
• Mantis Green
• Hello Green
• Napier Green

These shades mainly show vibrant tones of green with Napier Green standing out here as the most 'pale' of the bunch with a very noticeable yellow undertone.

Second image:

• British Racing Green
• Dragon Green
• Petrol Green
• XP Green

Aside from the classic British Racing Green, this second group features deeper and more unique tones, stepping away from the classic tones of green. Dragon Green, Petrol Green, and XP Green are bold, striking options that are quite rare to see. And even though these swatches give us a great insight of how these colors compare to one another they fail to convey the depth in these colors due to the swatches being flat and thus reflecting the light in a single manner. Colors like Dragen Green for example truly need to be seen on the car itself to appreciate the color to the fullest. (There are a few images of Dragon Green McLarens on our website that illustrate this).

Blues

McLaren’s blue palette is extensive, offering everything from subtle, deep tones to vibrant, striking shades.

First image:

• Agera Blue
• Cerulean Blue
• Ludus Blue
• Kingfisher Blue
• Steel Blue

These initial shades are more 'Aquatic' tones of blue and all contain a very subtle green undertone to varying degrees.

Second image:

• Fistral Blue
• Curacao Blue
• Iridium Blue
• Cepheus Blue
• Balaeric Blue

The second set features the brightest blues McLaren offers.

Third image:

• Seca Blue
• Mexico Blue
• Viper Blue
• Vega Blue
• Paris Blue

Fourth image:

• Burton Blue
• Kyanos Blue
• Celestial Blue
• Casa Blue
• Atlantic Blue

The final group contains the darkest shades of blue, all with prominent metallic finishes.

Pink, Purple & Blue

This group blends the boundaries between pink, purple, and blue, all with a strong metallic flake.

• Magenta Sorbet
• Mauvine
• Mauvine Blue
• Lantana Purple
• Mystic Blue

Whites and Silvers

McLaren’s lighter tones range from crisp, clean whites to shimmering silvers, offering both understated elegance and futuristic sophistication.

First image:

• White Gold
• Pearl Mirage White
• Pure White
• Anniversary White
• Silica White

This shows the difference in warmth across the various whites nicely. Silica White is by far the most popular, being available as a standard paint option on most models.

Second image:

• Alaskan Diamond White
• Lunar White
• Liquid Silver
• Liquid Alloy

From the bright Alaskan Diamond transitioning toward silver.

Gold & Silver

• Colorado Gold
• Supernova Silver
• Magnesium Silver
• Sarigan Quartz
• Titanium Silver

As seen here Supernova Silver is among the brighter silver paints on offer by McLaren, it's also one of the more popular ones since it features as a standard option on most models.

50 shades of Grey

McLaren’s range of greys shows just how versatile the color can be, ranging from deeper tones with blue undertones to pale, almost white finishes.

First image:

• Flintgrau
• Saros
• Sarthe Grey
• Graphite Grey

Most of these greys carry a subtle blue undertone, giving them more depth and a slightly cooler character. Although it must be said, when seeing these in more overcast conditions the blue is not that prominent.

Second image:

• Kilo Grey
• Midas Fire Grey
• Storm Grey
• GT Stealth Grey
• Brodger Metallic

This group represents more balanced, classic greys, all with different colored undertones.

Third image (pale greys):

• Ceramic Grey
• Cirrus Grey
• Dove Grey
• Chicane Grey
• Chicane Effect

The final set moves into the palest end of the spectrum, with some shades bordering on white. Ceramic and Chicane Grey being among the more popular greys.

Grey to Black

McLaren’s darker spectrum is quite special, the blacks are never just black. As you can see here all contain a unique and prominent metallic flake with some being able to really shift the appearance of the color.

First image:

• Grey Black (Grauschwartz)
• Ueno Grey
• Caliber Black
• Galaxit Black
• Diamond Black

This lineup starts with Porsche's Grey Black and moves to black, with Caliber Black standing out as more of a seemingly blue tone.

Second image:

• Black Gold
• Amethyst Black
• Casino Black
• Borealis

These blacks carry hidden complexity, from warm golden undertones to jewel-like hints of purple and green. In certain lighting, they transform from pure black into something more vibrant and unexpected.

Blue-Grey spectrum

This image perhaps could've been added to the blue gallery as they all display a blue tone to varying degrees.

• Muriwai White
• Polaris Blue
• Interstellar Grey
• Victory Grey

Colourstream: McLaren’s chameleon finishes

Perhaps the most dramatic paints in the MSO palette are the Colourstream options. These finishes shift tone depending on the light and angle, giving the car a living, dynamic presence. What looks blue from one perspective might shimmer green, purple, or even gold from another.

Shown here are the same paints but under multiple angles:

• Laguna Blue Colourstream
• Pacific Colourstream
• Pacific Colourstream (Satin)
• Amazon Colourstream
• Atlantic Colourstream

The first image shows them straight on where they look like regular metallic colors but as the angle changes more and more of the different tones become visible with some even changing to a completely different color.

These paints represent the pinnacle of MSO’s craftsmanship highly technical, incredibly exclusive, and almost impossible to convey on camera.

Conclusion

The swatches we’ve compared here are just a glimpse into the possibilities offered by McLaren Special Operations. From heritage-inspired oranges and iconic blues to shimmering Colourstream finishes. And this is only a small selection, there are a lot more available, both standard paint options and more unique finishes from the MSO palette. McLaren also continues to expand its catalogue with new shades, finishes, and bespoke one-offs tailored to customer requests.