The Blue-White-Red That Won Rallies — and Never Really Left
Before Martini Racing was a lifestyle brand, it was a weapon.
Before it was a colorway, Martini & Rossi was a vermouth company with an unusually large motorsport budget.
In the 1970s, European broadcast regulations began restricting tobacco advertising across television — and alcohol brands, facing none of those same restrictions, moved aggressively into the space tobacco left behind.
Martini went further than most. They sponsored Formula 1 teams, endurance programs at Le Mans, and eventually planted their diagonal stripe on rally cars competing at the highest level of the sport.
By the time the World Rally Championship was finding its footing as a serious global series, Martini was everywhere — on Brabhams in F1, on Porsches at the Nürburgring, and soon on Lancias sliding sideways through European forests. The stripe wasn't chosen because it looked good on a race car. It looked good on a race car because it kept winning.
In the late 1970s and through the 1980s, that diagonal navy-and-red stripe on white showed up on Lancia Stratos, 037, and Delta Integrale, cars that were actively destroying the competition in the World Rally Championship. The Stratos won three consecutive manufacturers titles. The 037 was the last rear-wheel drive car to win a WRC manufacturers championship, taking it in 1983 against the incoming all-wheel drive wave. And the Delta Integrale closed the era with four straight manufacturers titles from 1987 through 1991. Four titles. Same stripe. Same Sparco gear in the cockpit. Sparco was building the suits, gloves, and harnesses holding those drivers in their seats. The partnership wasn't marketing. It was functional.
Worth noting: Sparco wasn't a legacy brand lending its name to nostalgia when this partnership formed. The company launched in 1977 — right in the middle of the Martini/Lancia era, building race suits and safety equipment for drivers who needed it to work, not look good.
The Sparco x Martini Heritage Collection draws from a period when both companies were young, building real things for real racing at the same time. That's why it holds up. This isn't retrofitted branding. It's two outfits that grew up together.
Photography by McKlein Image Database
Fast forward to now: Sparco has revived it as the Heritage Collection, and the honest take is that it earns the nostalgia. The DNA is right. The colorway comes from actual race cars.
We carry the full line — from a $21 rear window decal to a $1,499 RF-5W helmet wearing the Martini stripes. Here's what's worth knowing about.
Shop the full Sparco Martini Collection →
Race Gear
The Martini Competition Racing Suit ($1,259) is FIA 8856-2018 certified. This isn't a costume — you can race in it. White with the classic stripe treatment. If you're building a heritage livery car, this is how you close the loop on the driver side.
Two helmets carry the livery: the RF-5W ($1,499) in the standard Martini colorway and the RF-5W Stripes ($1,499) with a bolder graphic treatment. Both are Snell SA2020 / FIA 8859-2015.
Gloves run from the Land Racing Gloves 2024 ($139, FIA 8856-2018) up to the Martini-R ($145). The Martini Top Racing Shoes ($299) are fire-rated and look like they came out of a 1983 WRC service park — because, conceptually, they did.
For the car: the Pro 2000 QRT Fiberglass Racing Seat ($1,099) is the headline piece, with the R100 v2 ($479) as the more accessible option. Harness pads and an FIA tow strap round it out.
Paddock & Garage
The MS-5 Mechanics Suit ($265) is a proper work coverall, not a fashion piece. The Wind Stopper Jacket (from $85) is your grid walk layer. The Field Jacket ($239) is the heavier option for cold events.
For gear transport: the Sport Duffle ($105, 55L) moves helmet and kit from trailer to grid. The Stage Backpack ($145) handles everything else. And yes, there's a Martini Paddock Chair ($89).
Off-Track
The apparel range is deep — hoodies, jackets, polos, tees, sweaters, street shoes, hats, and accessories, all wearing the stripe. The Replica Bomber ($189) is the standout — wear it to the grid and people will know without you saying anything. The Big Stripes Tee ($59) is the easy entry point. Street shoes start at $99 and run through seven styles built on Sparco's low-profile rally shoe platform.
