The Gulf Racing Livery is easily one of the most recognizable racing liveries in all of motorsports. It has been adorning race cars since the late 1960’s when it won back to back LeMans race events on the backs of Ford GT40 race cars. It is such an iconic design that it continues to be used to this very day in a variety of ways. “The first racing team Gulf Oil sponsored in the 1960s—and which it ultimately acquired when Ford withdrew from sports car racing—was John Wyer Automotive Engineering. The Gulf livery’s big-screen appearance in Le Mans in 1971 cemented the orange-disc logo in motorsports and further solidified its prestige on a global scale. In the ensuing years, Gulf race cars, including models from Audi, McLaren, Porsche, and Aston Martin, have competed for titles on world-renowned circuits. Many special-edition, Gulf-livery derivatives have decorated cars like the Lotus Evora 400, Ford Mustang GT Premium, Ford GT Heritage Edition, and more recently the $1.7-million, 804-horsepower McLaren Elva.” Segura, E. (2020, November 16). What Is the Gulf Livery: A Brief History of One of Racing’s Most Famous Color Schemes. MotorTrend https://www.motortrend.com/features/what-is-gulf-livery-a-brief-history/
2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition 
2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition 
2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition 
Original 1968 Ford GT Gulf Livery 
Original 1968 Ford GT Gulf Livery
In the case of this particular Sage Titanium Storm King, the proud owner of this beautiful bike was also the proud owner of a 2006 Ford GT Gulf Livery Heritage Edition which he acquired in 2008. For this particular paint scheme, we used cerakote as our media of choice due to the increased durability it affords over wet paint. When selecting colors for the design itself, our amazing friends at Titanium Finishing Company knew that a stock cerakote color would not work for something as iconic as this particular bike. As such, they created a custom blue color to accurately match the iconic powder blue from the original cars. While each one of our paint jobs is a One-Off custom piece of art, this one goes a step further with the custom color match.
When there is such a personal connection to the bike and the end customer, we thought it might be a nice idea to share his own words for the inspiration of the bike as well as well as why he chose a Sage Storm King above all else:
What is the inspiration for the paint scheme? My father was a huge Ford fan and had models of the original Ford GT40 Mk II (No. 02) that won the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans and also the 1968 GT40 Mk I (No. 9) that won the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans on his office desk. The 1966 GT40 had a black livery and the 1968 had the baby blue and orange Gulf Oil livery. Both the passion for auto racing and, in particular, sports cars and open wheel racing was passed on to me from my father.
What is your personal connection to that inspiration? As a young kid, I was fascinated by the Gulf Oil livery. You saw it on a broad spectrum of race cars. Fast forward to 2006 and Ford debuted the Ford GT and it was just a matter of time before the Gulf Oil livery reappeared on the new GT. In 2008 I picked up a GT with the Gulf Oil livery.
Why a Storm King? I had been considering a titanium road bike for several years. Due to some significant injures, mountain biking was no longer a smart choice for me so I began looking to get back into a road bike. At my age, and due to those previously mentioned injuries, ride fit and comfort were a big part of the search criteria. I knew that custom geometry was also going to be a big factor in choosing the right bike. A close friend who owns a bike shop in Raleigh, NC suggested two bike manufacturers; Moots and Sage. A second, highly valued, recommendation for Sage came from my Neurosurgeon and when combined with Sage being local to me, Sage was an easy decision. My wife and I own some rural property at the base of Mt. Adams in South Central Washington where some of the best riding would be on unpaved or gravel roads. That made the Storm King a perfect choice for me.
What are your passions that connect you to the bike? For a good part of my life, riding was an instrumental part of my life. As an avid skier and former racer, riding was not only a way to stay fit in the offseason but also a great social outlet and stress reliever. For awhile I lived in and worked in Park City, UT. During the winter, it was not uncommon to go skiing during lunch and mountain biking during the summer months. This Sage Storm King pays homage to my father, my passion for auto racing and my love of riding.
- Build Spec:
- Frame: Custom Sage Titanium Storm King painted in classic Gulf Racing Livery paint scheme with custom color match Cerakote finish
- Fork: Enve Adventure Fork
- Cockpit: Enve Bar/ Seatpost/ SES AR Bar
- Drivetrain: Shimano GRX Di2 2X
- Wheels: Enve G23 Wheelset w/ IRC Boken 700×36 Tires, Shimano RT-900 Dura-Ace Rotors
- Chris King Components: Inset 7 Headset/ T47 24X BB/ Headset Spacer Kit: Matte Mango
- Stages Power Meter Left Side Upgrade: GRX Crank