Wrapper's Delight

Temporarily changing a car’s appearance is becoming a lasting passion among collectors.

- Hannah Elliott

Tony King, known to some as Champagne Tony, was planning to join a family road trip from Denver to the West Coast, and he wanted to make a splash. The Englishman, who owns Manhattan marketing firm King & Partners, took his slate-gray Porsche 964 from 1990 and wrapped it in the bold blue and red stripes of Martini Racing from the 1970s. In addition to instantly turning the car into an eye-catcher, the wrap would protect the factory paint while it crossed the Rockies. All the fun, less of the worry.

“I had always wanted a Martini car,” King says. The caravan was canceled because of coronavirus concerns, but “we had so much fun driving around and seeing people’s reactions,” he says. “Then one day I woke up and thought, ‘I want it gray again,’ and had it all taken off. Easy.”