Wave After Wave. One-off hand-painted McLaren GT revealed!

In the world of high-performance supercars, exclusivity is most sought after. While McLaren offer countless paint options and even hand-painted details, little come close to this particular McLaren GT which was completely hand painted by local Malaysian contemporary artist Karwai Chan.

In collaboration with McLaren Kuala Lumpur, Karwai Chan spent well over 200 hours over two weeks hand-painting the unique wave theme on a white McLaren GT. Called “Ride Every Wave”, this oil-painted artwork was inspired by a combination of both ancient Chinese and Japanese art. One could see the influence of Chinese ceramics and Japanese wave paintings throughout the GT.

Being a self-taught artist, Karwai Chan have previously collaborated with McLaren Kuala Lumpur for a couple of commissioned paintings of Bruce McLaren and Ayrton Senna which now hangs in the showroom. This project however, was Karwai Chan’s first McLaren artwork produced on an actual McLaren vehicle.

During the car’s reveal a few days ago, the paint was not yet completely cured. Once dried, the car will be covered in a layer of varnish, followed by a protective film wrap to preserve the painting for the future buyer.

Yes, this one-off hand-painted McLaren GT is actually up for sale! Better yet, the price remains the same as a regular GT. As a reminder, the GT was launched in Malaysia back in 2019 with a base price of RM908k before duties, taxes and options. Power comes from a 4.0 liter twin-turbo V8 making 620PS and 630Nm of torque. So please slow down if you like people to catch a glimpse of the waves.

When sold, one can only hope that the car be driven often for people to admire. In the meantime, come check out this unique piece of drivable artwork up close at the McLaren Kuala Lumpur showroom before it gets bought!

Words: Benjamin Ng

Photos: Harith Iman