What does it take to craft the look of a WRC car? We chat to M-Sport's Phil Dixon to find out
They say that a tenth of a second is all it takes for humans to make a judgement on someone's appearance.
With rally cars, there are several other factors to take onboard - like noise, for example. But making sure it looks the part is, quite clearly, important.
Just like if you were heading out on a first-date, the way you present yourself matters. So no team wants to unveil a new rally car to the world without it looking the part.
Any World Rally Championship machine's ultimate success is judged by the work done first by the engineers, and then the drivers, to make sure it performs as well as possible. But there's a special place in history reserved for the cars that look the best, too. They're the ones we also remember.
But how is a WRC livery created? And what does that process entail? Minoia picked up the phone to Phil Dixon, the man responsible for designing the look of M-Sport's Ford Puma Rally1, to find out:
How Phil became M-Sport's man
Credit: Autosport International Show
Addressing the crowd gathering round the main stage at the Autosport International Show last Friday, M-Sport team principal Richard Millener said something that greatly piqued my interest.
"We have a really talented guy in-house, Phil Dixon, whose done all our liveries for the past 5-10 years," Millener said.
Fairly standard stuff. But then:
"He actually used to work in the goods-in department and I went down to see him about a parcel. He had a picture on the wall and it was a painted picture of a Fiesta, and I asked him where he got it from because it was really cool and he did it.
"He said he did a graphic design degree, so I asked him if he'd be able to do a customer livery at the time which he did and it's gone from there, and he's kind of been our go-to man for things."
Phil verifies that story."I joined M-Sport in 2009," he tells Minoia.
"When I first started I was actually working with quality control, and then I moved into goods in, goods out, shipping parts.
"I qualified as an automotive designer at Northumbria but that was like 20 years ago now, and I'd dotted about doing different jobs and things, came here and they sort of discovered I had an ability graphics wise and there was a role available within the company.
"My main focus is making sure the cars are wrapped, so prior to me there'd have been workshop staff who had to manage that as part of their car builds, and then it became a bespoke role. So I effectively took that on from workshop management and I would liaise with our printers to get kits here, book fitters and then oversee all the cars in the workshop getting fitted, all the spares that go with them, and just opportunities became available."
And that customer livery Rich mentioned? Would you believe it was one of the more obscure drivers to have piloted an M-Sport-built car in the world championship.
"I think the first car I had a hand in would've been Aaron Burkart's car which was 2011," Phil explains, "so you sort of get presented with opportunities, they weren't forthcoming with the design, was I interested? Of course I was, it was an opportunity for me, so you show your ability then get trusted with more and more."
The art of design
Phil's involvement with design increased as the years progressed.
"In 2013 Andrew Wheatley, who's currently at the FIA, was my line manager at the time so they wanted someone to prepare the graphics for the car, I kind of steered the mouse around the screen while Andrew designed the car which was obviously the Qatar car, and I steadily gained more influence over what got put on the car," he says.
"I didn't have a great deal of influence on that car, it was more me using the software, but over the years I did more and more."
Over the last decade M-Sport has sported some fairly iconic liveries - perhaps most famously the Red Bull Fiestas of 2017-18, or the purple Puma of 2022.
"I have to give Rich credit for that one," Phil interjects. "He doesn't normally give me concept direction or anything like that, but he suggested purple could look really striking this year, how can we make it work?
"It raised a few eyebrows within the company but it caught people off-guard. It was certainly striking and different."
Which is ultimately what any team wants to do - particularly one in M-Sport's position without a corporate identity to conform to.
"I tip my hat to them [Toyota and Hyundai]," Phil reveals. "We've got a lot more creative freedom, we don't have the constraints that those guys do.
"The liveries that come out for Toyota and Hyundai are so crisp, well considered. The one that's just come out from Hyundai I think is fantastic, but because it's perceived to be the same colours or this, that and the other, I don't think people understand the work that goes into developing something like that.
"The work that those guys do is incredible but it just doesn't get the recognition it deserves I don't think."
Very humbly said from a man who understands this dark art. But this coming season is in many ways an exception to the rule, as Toyota has completely flipped the colour palette on its GR Yaris Rally1 and Hyundai has made some significant alterations to the look of its i20 N.
Normally, it's usually only M-Sport that heads into a new season with a distinctively different Rally1 car. Phil admits there's a conscious effort to make sure the livery looks different each year.
"I guess so yeah," he says. "Rich obviously drives all facets of the WRC circus as far as M-Sport's concerned, so I try and get a bit of a cue from him as to what direction we're going in.
"He puts his trust in me to develop something but yeah there is a bit of pressure to come up with something new. Often a lot of it happens so quickly you don't have time to dwell on it really, you just have to get on with it."
What's the process?
As fans, it's easy to sit back on our armchairs and decry why this colour was used, why that bit looks a bit plain or why another concept wasn't thought of.
But designers don't live in a utopia - they can't always just choose what looks best. There are several factors to consider, and it's a long process which Phil says, at least for M-Sport, begins all the way back in September.
"Typically we tend to start looking at stuff in maybe mid September and then building towards Christmas," he says, "but given the size of the company - and we don't obviously have the luxury of manufacturer backing - we're having to do all sorts of deals with people in the run up to Christmas to try and secure sponsorship. So there's a lot of it floating about.
"Because the sponsors have got a deal for a set position on the car, a size and everything, I tend to put all the little pieces of the jigsaw in place if you like and then you kind of generate a concept to try and tie all that together, and so it doesn't look too much of a patchwork quilt.
"If you've got a title sponsor with a really strong brand identity like if we go back to the tobacco liveries and things like that, you've got a really strong look to feed off.
"If you don't have that, and you're trying to knit together a number of different sponsors, I'm sure there's different schools of thought on this but in my opinion you kind of need a concept to drag that all together effectively."
M-Sport's 2024 look is a significant shift from the blue of last year, despite Red Bull remaining a prominent partner on the car. Its an homage to the Sierra Cosworth of the late 80s and Escort Cosworth of the early 90s.
This writer is a fan, but surprisingly Phil isn't overly happy with his work.
"2024's a difficult one because it was a bit more rushed than we'd have liked! We've been snowed under with Dakar stuff this year, trying to get that out the door, so I haven't spent anywhere near as much time as I would have liked on it."
The importance of looking good
Ultimately liveries are objects of beauty so they will always be subjective, you're never going to please everybody.
But the obvious aim is to create a design that satisfies sponsors, resonates with fans and looks good in all environments.
"Everything's so visual now," Phil says. "Social media, the first thing that people see... we just spoke about the other two manufacturers' liveries but if it's perceived to be the same rather than people have a big, in-depth look at the details regardless of if the colours have changed or the overall composition of the colours has changed.
"You're sort of under pressure to get that first visual to make an impact on people. "Motorsport in general, but rally's such a dynamic visual prospect - you're going to different countries, different backdrops around the world; you've got the snow of Sweden, potentially the mud if not the dust of Safari this year, so you've sort of got to consider how it's going to look with those backdrops in those environments."
Fascinating. But time for a cliche question to round this out: is there a design Phil is particularly proud of over the years?
"The project where I worked with the Hoonigan guys, that was a bit of a revelation in terms of the way they design their liveries and things, the way they compile everything, there's a guy called Marcus who does all the stuff from Hoonigan, really helped me out along the way," Phil replies.
"He can take a lot of credit for the stuff that I'm able to pull out now, but that's the benchmark for me doing stuff for them. I've enjoyed working with projects with those guys, it's been a real eye-opener that.
"In terms of our own stuff, probably the second generation R5 car, so the all-black. We saw that right through from the design stage through to fitting it on the car, and then the photography and video work that was done for it as well I liaised with the photographers doing that - that was another thing to learn, understanding how that element works and what that can bring to the table in terms of showing your design off.
"You're maybe mindful about how things are going to be shown off on social media things and try and bend things towards that."
A fast car doesn't have to look good, but it's never a bad thing if it does. Rich feels the second box is at least ticked; the times on the special stages will reveal the rest.
"There's a few hints back to some older Ford liveries with the blues and the whites," he said.
"It's actually a very difficult process because you have a lot of constraints from partners in terms of how the logos can be placed, what colours they need to be on etc, so he does a great job and I hope this one looks as fantastic on the stages as it does here [at the launch]."
They say that a tenth of a second is all it takes for humans to make a judgement on someone's appearance.
With rally cars, there are several other factors to take onboard - like noise, for example. But making sure it looks the part is, quite clearly, important.
Just like if you were heading out on a first-date, the way you present yourself matters. So no team wants to unveil a new rally car to the world without it looking the part.
Any World Rally Championship machine's ultimate success is judged by the work done first by the engineers, and then the drivers, to make sure it performs as well as possible. But there's a special place in history reserved for the cars that look the best, too. They're the ones we also remember.
But how is a WRC livery created? And what does that process entail? Minoia picked up the phone to Phil Dixon, the man responsible for designing the look of M-Sport's Ford Puma Rally1, to find out:
How Phil became M-Sport's man
Addressing the crowd gathering round the main stage at the Autosport International Show last Friday, M-Sport team principal Richard Millener said something that greatly piqued my interest.
"We have a really talented guy in-house, Phil Dixon, whose done all our liveries for the past 5-10 years," Millener said.
Fairly standard stuff. But then:
"He actually used to work in the goods-in department and I went down to see him about a parcel. He had a picture on the wall and it was a painted picture of a Fiesta, and I asked him where he got it from because it was really cool and he did it.
"He said he did a graphic design degree, so I asked him if he'd be able to do a customer livery at the time which he did and it's gone from there, and he's kind of been our go-to man for things."
Phil verifies that story."I joined M-Sport in 2009," he tells Minoia.
"When I first started I was actually working with quality control, and then I moved into goods in, goods out, shipping parts.
"I qualified as an automotive designer at Northumbria but that was like 20 years ago now, and I'd dotted about doing different jobs and things, came here and they sort of discovered I had an ability graphics wise and there was a role available within the company.
"My main focus is making sure the cars are wrapped, so prior to me there'd have been workshop staff who had to manage that as part of their car builds, and then it became a bespoke role. So I effectively took that on from workshop management and I would liaise with our printers to get kits here, book fitters and then oversee all the cars in the workshop getting fitted, all the spares that go with them, and just opportunities became available."
And that customer livery Rich mentioned? Would you believe it was one of the more obscure drivers to have piloted an M-Sport-built car in the world championship.
"I think the first car I had a hand in would've been Aaron Burkart's car which was 2011," Phil explains, "so you sort of get presented with opportunities, they weren't forthcoming with the design, was I interested? Of course I was, it was an opportunity for me, so you show your ability then get trusted with more and more."
The art of design
Phil's involvement with design increased as the years progressed.
"In 2013 Andrew Wheatley, who's currently at the FIA, was my line manager at the time so they wanted someone to prepare the graphics for the car, I kind of steered the mouse around the screen while Andrew designed the car which was obviously the Qatar car, and I steadily gained more influence over what got put on the car," he says.
"I didn't have a great deal of influence on that car, it was more me using the software, but over the years I did more and more."
Over the last decade M-Sport has sported some fairly iconic liveries - perhaps most famously the Red Bull Fiestas of 2017-18, or the purple Puma of 2022.
"I have to give Rich credit for that one," Phil interjects. "He doesn't normally give me concept direction or anything like that, but he suggested purple could look really striking this year, how can we make it work?
"It raised a few eyebrows within the company but it caught people off-guard. It was certainly striking and different."
Which is ultimately what any team wants to do - particularly one in M-Sport's position without a corporate identity to conform to.
"I tip my hat to them [Toyota and Hyundai]," Phil reveals. "We've got a lot more creative freedom, we don't have the constraints that those guys do.
"The liveries that come out for Toyota and Hyundai are so crisp, well considered. The one that's just come out from Hyundai I think is fantastic, but because it's perceived to be the same colours or this, that and the other, I don't think people understand the work that goes into developing something like that.
"The work that those guys do is incredible but it just doesn't get the recognition it deserves I don't think."
Very humbly said from a man who understands this dark art. But this coming season is in many ways an exception to the rule, as Toyota has completely flipped the colour palette on its GR Yaris Rally1 and Hyundai has made some significant alterations to the look of its i20 N.
Normally, it's usually only M-Sport that heads into a new season with a distinctively different Rally1 car. Phil admits there's a conscious effort to make sure the livery looks different each year.
"I guess so yeah," he says. "Rich obviously drives all facets of the WRC circus as far as M-Sport's concerned, so I try and get a bit of a cue from him as to what direction we're going in.
"He puts his trust in me to develop something but yeah there is a bit of pressure to come up with something new. Often a lot of it happens so quickly you don't have time to dwell on it really, you just have to get on with it."
What's the process?
As fans, it's easy to sit back on our armchairs and decry why this colour was used, why that bit looks a bit plain or why another concept wasn't thought of.
But designers don't live in a utopia - they can't always just choose what looks best. There are several factors to consider, and it's a long process which Phil says, at least for M-Sport, begins all the way back in September.
"Typically we tend to start looking at stuff in maybe mid September and then building towards Christmas," he says, "but given the size of the company - and we don't obviously have the luxury of manufacturer backing - we're having to do all sorts of deals with people in the run up to Christmas to try and secure sponsorship. So there's a lot of it floating about.
"Because the sponsors have got a deal for a set position on the car, a size and everything, I tend to put all the little pieces of the jigsaw in place if you like and then you kind of generate a concept to try and tie all that together, and so it doesn't look too much of a patchwork quilt.
"If you've got a title sponsor with a really strong brand identity like if we go back to the tobacco liveries and things like that, you've got a really strong look to feed off.
"If you don't have that, and you're trying to knit together a number of different sponsors, I'm sure there's different schools of thought on this but in my opinion you kind of need a concept to drag that all together effectively."
M-Sport's 2024 look is a significant shift from the blue of last year, despite Red Bull remaining a prominent partner on the car. Its an homage to the Sierra Cosworth of the late 80s and Escort Cosworth of the early 90s.
This writer is a fan, but surprisingly Phil isn't overly happy with his work.
"2024's a difficult one because it was a bit more rushed than we'd have liked! We've been snowed under with Dakar stuff this year, trying to get that out the door, so I haven't spent anywhere near as much time as I would have liked on it."
The importance of looking good
Ultimately liveries are objects of beauty so they will always be subjective, you're never going to please everybody.
But the obvious aim is to create a design that satisfies sponsors, resonates with fans and looks good in all environments.
"Everything's so visual now," Phil says. "Social media, the first thing that people see... we just spoke about the other two manufacturers' liveries but if it's perceived to be the same rather than people have a big, in-depth look at the details regardless of if the colours have changed or the overall composition of the colours has changed.
"You're sort of under pressure to get that first visual to make an impact on people. "Motorsport in general, but rally's such a dynamic visual prospect - you're going to different countries, different backdrops around the world; you've got the snow of Sweden, potentially the mud if not the dust of Safari this year, so you've sort of got to consider how it's going to look with those backdrops in those environments."
Fascinating. But time for a cliche question to round this out: is there a design Phil is particularly proud of over the years?
"The project where I worked with the Hoonigan guys, that was a bit of a revelation in terms of the way they design their liveries and things, the way they compile everything, there's a guy called Marcus who does all the stuff from Hoonigan, really helped me out along the way," Phil replies.
"He can take a lot of credit for the stuff that I'm able to pull out now, but that's the benchmark for me doing stuff for them. I've enjoyed working with projects with those guys, it's been a real eye-opener that.
"In terms of our own stuff, probably the second generation R5 car, so the all-black. We saw that right through from the design stage through to fitting it on the car, and then the photography and video work that was done for it as well I liaised with the photographers doing that - that was another thing to learn, understanding how that element works and what that can bring to the table in terms of showing your design off.
"You're maybe mindful about how things are going to be shown off on social media things and try and bend things towards that."
A fast car doesn't have to look good, but it's never a bad thing if it does. Rich feels the second box is at least ticked; the times on the special stages will reveal the rest.
"There's a few hints back to some older Ford liveries with the blues and the whites," he said.
"It's actually a very difficult process because you have a lot of constraints from partners in terms of how the logos can be placed, what colours they need to be on etc, so he does a great job and I hope this one looks as fantastic on the stages as it does here [at the launch]."
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