Las Vegas never hides its energy and McLaren chose to meet that intensity head-on with Project Viva, a one-off interpretation of the 750S Spider created by McLaren Special Operations. The idea was to capture the pulse of the city without falling into the obvious trap of copying neon signs outright. Instead, MSO built a monochrome study that still glows with the spirit of the Strip. The base finish is a bespoke colour called Vegas Nights, a deep black created specifically for this project and mixed with microscopic flecks of cyan, magenta and green. Under direct light these particles reveal themselves the way neon cuts through the dark desert air. Muriwai White accents break the depth of the paint and trace a visual rhythm across the bodywork, tying the car back to earlier MSO design themes. The entire livery follows a “sketch in motion” approach, created through hand-applied linework and graphic storytelling.
Hidden throughout the body are dozens of references to Las Vegas, McLaren history and the team’s current F1 presence. There is a reinterpretation of the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, a deck of cards motif swapping card values for 750S markings, a roulette wheel design that doubles as a timeline of McLaren’s evolving logos and race silhouettes, and visual nods to Nevada’s canyons and desert landscape. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri added their own contributions, including ten stars on the rear bumper representing McLaren’s ten Constructors’ Championships, with one star picked out in silver leaf. MSO artisans integrated the Speedy Kiwi logo, tributes to Bruce McLaren’s racing helmet and other subtle touches that reward close inspection.
Underneath the art sits the standard 750S Spider platform with its 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 producing roughly 740 horsepower. The numbers remain untouched because they already deliver the kind of performance that mirrors the velocity of the city it celebrates, sending the car from zero to sixty in about 2.7 seconds before climbing to a top speed of around 206 miles per hour. Project Viva is therefore both sculpture and machine, as capable on the road as it is expressive on display.
McLaren positioned the unveiling to coincide with the buzz around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, installing the car inside the McLaren Experience Centre at the Wynn from November 13 to 20. That timing strengthens the narrative McLaren has been building around MSO: bespoke work as a core identity, not an afterthought. In an era where manufacturers compete on more than just horsepower, the appetite for one-off creations, personalisation and deep narrative design has grown sharply. Project Viva becomes an example of how a performance brand can use culture and place to shape a completely unique machine.
The result is a car that feels inseparable from its environment. It mirrors the contrast of the Strip, the way lights cut through the black sky, the sense that everything around you is always moving. Project Viva exists for that purpose alone, a reminder that even at the top levels of performance engineering there is room for play, artistry and context.
