Ayrton Senna’s helmet design stands out as the most iconic in Formula 1 history—and possibly all of motorsport. The Brazilian colors of yellow, green, and blue have adorned the heads of many F1 legends, but none have made the Verde Amarela as famous as Senna. While there’s an abundance of Senna merchandise available today, I recently stumbled upon what I consider to be the most impressive tribute: a Honda Civic Type R.
This isn’t the first instance of a car being styled to reflect Senna’s helmet or his renowned McLaren MP4/4. However, this Type R is particularly special as it has been hand-painted by Alan Mosca of Sid Special Paint. If you’re familiar with Senna’s legacy, you’ll recognize Sid Mosca—Alan’s father—as the creator of Senna’s iconic helmet design. Sid painted Senna’s helmet throughout his career and continued to work with Senna’s family and the Instituto Senna until his death in 2011.
Alan collaborated with his father during Senna’s active racing career and has continued to honor that legacy by managing the business and undertaking exciting custom projects like this Type R. The Sid Special Paint Instagram account features two videos, one showcasing the finished Honda alongside Senna’s helmet, and another that documents the creative process which can be found here. In the latter video, viewers can see Alan meticulously painting the car in the signature yellow and carefully crafting the side stripes by hand. As a devoted fan of both Senna and the Type R, this is truly thrilling to witness.
Regrettably, this custom Civic is not going up for auction; it belongs to a private collector. So, if you were considering reaching out to Brazil with an offer, it may lead to disappointment. It’s unclear whether Sid Special Paint is able to replicate this design on another vehicle, but if you have the resources to commission a similar project, it doesn’t hurt to inquire.
In fact, an even more exciting option could be an Acura NSX featuring Senna’s helmet design. Is anyone in Honda’s marketing department taking notes?
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