Words: Rob Andrews

The third annual Touring Car Magazine Tin Top Livery rankings are here. And like last year, we’re mixing it up with both the BTCC and TCR UK. Once again there was a wild mixture on track this year, from some highly corporate (and bland) colours being raced, along with some lush liveries. The poor ones and the average? We’ll sweep those under the carpet. The good ones? They’re here, and I’m sure you’ll disagree! After all, in the TC Mag offices there have been loud arguments about the merits of the top ten, I’m sure your opinion also won’t match mine!

So here they are, in reverse order.

Ten – Excelr8/Nick Halstead

The main Hyundai BTCC colours weren’t bad, as our Editor found out when he went to the BSM reveal before the season kicked off. The design itself isn’t bad, or brilliant, but the black instead of blue just looks a bit meaner. The Mr Crazy Cart logo did lead to a colleague from another outlet to say it looks like “Mr Crazy C**t” when it flies past on track, but it’s those buzzsaw blade graphics around the wheels that got me. We need a Hot Wheels version!

Nine – JHR Racing/Callum Newsham

Essentially a carryover from last season (where it ranked number five) and a throwback to the Newsham Golf TCR car, it just looks good. Okay at the end of the season a smattering of bonnet stickers ruined the look, but it was a crowdfunder appeal to get the car back on track. It simply does the job.

Eight – Area Motorsport/Steve Laidlaw

Laidlaw went through three liveries this season. One on the i30N he originally campaigned, and another on the Cupra VZ – in factory fresh colours – that he finished the year with. Between those two though his ex-Luke Sargeant Leon came out in half-and-half black and white, and it was stunning. It did lead to our Editor Mick yelling: “It looks like a fucking Newcastle shirt.” The poor lad is still suffering from the Newcastle United Lister that raced at Le Mans, this just adds to his nightmare. Perhaps I should have ranked it number one for that alone!

Seven – Laser Tools/Jake Hill

‘Down from Number Three’ they would have said on Top of the Pops. The Laser Tools Beemer looked better than the Infiniti and Mercedes when it came out last year, and the variation for 2024 still looks like it suits the Bavarian lines a little better still, but just think for a moment. Laser Tools cars have taken three of the last five titles – a great looking car and results like that? That’s what you’re aiming for.

Six – NAPA/Alliance Racing

This is an odd one. NAPA were number one in this list in 2022, fourth in 2023 and now sixth, even though I think this is the best interpretation of their NAPA colours in the BTCC yet. That bit of extra white just makes the difference here, although I’ve got to say, while this is their best car livery since coming racing in the BTCC, the NAPA racesuits were hideous. Just no on those please.

Five – MPH Racing/Brad Hutchison

Last season our Editor received a lot of crap for me only ranking the Bond It car eighth, and it did look good, but it looks far better on the Cupra this year. Losing the grey panel and stripes has enhanced the look of the team, and the shape of the Cupra goes well with how the colours are divided up. It’s canny.

Four – Zeus/WSR/Bobby Thompson

My lord that was a reveal, and a hell of a debut at Snetterton. Purple isn’t a colour you see in the BTCC that often, but it looked bloody, bloody brilliant as it jumped to the front of the field and challenged for wins. It’s a shame it all went to shit after one round though.

Three – RBR/Audi/Joe Marshall

One advantage here is the fact that the TCR Audi RS3 Gen Two is just the meanest looking Touring Car out there. The stance is aggressive and just looks the bloody part. Strip away all the nonsense stickers you usually see on these cars and give us a dark base colour with none of the fancy bollocks all over wrap, a few nice stripes and some minimalist advertising, and you start to get a fizzy feeling in the excitable areas.

Two – Valvoline/Alliance Racing

I can’t for the life of me remember why I didn’t put the Valvoline machines in the top ten last season. Obviously my meds have been changed since then! Full nineties CART/IndyCar vibes. Although no Robbie Gordon style punch ups occurred on pitlane, it just brings full on US fever from the glory days of oval racing to the shores of the UK. Give us one for the whole season in 2025 please!

One – Duckhams/Un-Limited/Daryl DeLeon

I’m one of those people who will tell you things were better in the past. Like the days when the most important livery for a future F1 driver was a Duckhams coloured Formula Ford car. When Un-Limited rolled this car out after an all-nighter prepping for their Donington debut I got very excited. In fact there was a bulge in the zip area of my jeans when this beauty arrived. Like something out of an old magazine with sticky pages I used to borrow from my Dad. It Is Superb!