Fly Yellow

Ferrari 330 P4 in Ecurie Francorchamps colors.  Ferrari sold four of these cars to private teams in 1967 to backstop
the factory cars.  They were no more successful against Ford's Mark IV than the 312 P's had been against the GT 40. 

I didn't pay much attention to yellow Ferraris until I saw Alain de Cadenet demonstrate the car above in his Victory By Design TV series.  It captivated me, especially in contrast to the traditionally red 330's.  Yellow is the Belgian national racing color; this car (which had a so-so racing history) is painted the same shade as the Tipo 156 entered for Olivier Gendebien in the 1961 Belgian Grand Prix.  It's also the same shade as Ferrari's by now long-standing catalog color, Fly Yellow.  I believe the catalog color is the same as the one Ferrari originally used to spray Ecurie Francorchamps cars.

Yellow is not among my favorite colors for cars.  The shade doesn't matter much; it doesn't work for me on Acuras, Corvettes, Lamborghinis, Mustangs, or Chevy Cobalts.  For that matter, it doesn't work on all Ferraris.  The Daytona 375 GTB looks better in red.  (No color can save a 1980's Testa Rossa.)  Although I haven't seen a 458 Italia in Fly Yellow, I doubt that it would look better than red.  Most Ferraris should be red.  Not metallic, candy apple, plum, or orangey red.  Ferrari "Red Sauce Red."

Did Equipe Nationale Belge or Ecurie Francorchamps ever run a 250 GT SWB?  No idea.

Small cars with curvy lines look great in Fly Yellow.  The Porsche 356 and the Generation 3 Mazda RX-7 come to mind (neither came in yellow from the factory).  And Ferrari Dinos and 250 GT SWB's.
 Best of all, though, was the 330 P4.  Why "Fly"?  A chat room post says it means "Ferrari Light Yellow.  OK...  But Italian for yellow is giallo.  And isn't "Ferrari Light Yellow Yellow" redundant?