May 3, 2026
Rainbow road rage
Porsche will contest Laguna Seca in historic colors of the Apple Computer livery
Fans went from race hype to Apple design therapy in the comments
TLDR: Porsche is racing at Laguna Seca in a throwback Apple rainbow paint scheme to honor their 1980 partnership. The comments instantly turned it into a loud debate about modern Apple design, nostalgia, confusing headlines, and whether the internet can ever just enjoy a cool-looking car.
Porsche is rolling into California’s Laguna Seca race with two cars dressed in retro Apple rainbow colors, reviving a look first seen on a Porsche race car back in 1980. On paper, this is a neat anniversary moment: Apple is celebrating 50 years, Porsche is leaning hard into its history, and the race takes place just down the road from Apple’s headquarters. But online, the real action wasn’t only about speed — it was about feelings. Lots of them.
The strongest reaction? People were weirdly emotional about old Apple design. One commenter basically turned a race-car paint job into a full-on intervention for modern Apple, arguing that today’s sleek, ultra-minimal style has become soulless and that people want personality back. Another took the nostalgia train even further, saying the colorful car made them dream of a future where Apple finally puts bold colors on MacBook Pros. Suddenly, a motorsport announcement became a group therapy session for everyone mourning the death of fun tech design.
There was also some classic internet nitpicking, because of course there was. One person complained the headline sounded like Porsche was about to fight Apple’s colors at Laguna Seca rather than wear them. Another laughed that “only Hacker News” could find something negative to say about a car wrap. And in one of the funniest reactions, a vintage-computing fan joked that the old rainbow look was supposed to be safely irrelevant — until this collab made it trendy again. In other words: Porsche brought the throwback livery, and the comments brought the chaos.
Key Points
- •Porsche Penske Motorsport’s two Porsche 963 cars at Laguna Seca will use a livery honoring the Apple Computer colors from a 1980 Porsche 935 raced at Le Mans.
- •Apple and Porsche framed the design as part of a longstanding relationship dating back to 1980, with the renewed collaboration also marking Apple’s 50th anniversary.
- •The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Laguna Seca is scheduled for May 3 and will run for two hours and 40 minutes.
- •Porsche Penske Motorsport will field Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 6 car, and Julien Andlauer and Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 car.
- •Porsche said it leads the manufacturers’ standings, while its drivers opened the season with wins at Daytona and Sebring; customer teams will also field Porsche 963 and 911 GT3 R entries at Laguna Seca.