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Motorsports followers and equipment nerds can unite this weekend when the quantity 23 Toyota — pushed by Bubba Wallace and sponsored by Columbia Sportswear — blazes laps at Atlanta Motor Speedway in an unmistakably outdoor-themed automotive.
Harkening again to easier instances with bolder seems, the 510-horsepower Camry will leap from the 39-car subject earlier than the inexperienced flag even drops. That’s as a result of Wallace’s sizzling rod will seem like it rolled straight out of a Eighties bowling alley arcade, with a purple, teal, and neon pink paint scheme.
And if that coloration combo sounds acquainted, it’s as a result of Columbia helped make it well-known when launching the Bugaboo Parka in 1986. Not solely did the jacket elevate the interchangeable idea (a 3-in-1 design with fleece and shell that could possibly be worn individually or collectively), however its coloration palette additionally mirrored the quintessential ’80s aesthetic.
Tech, Colour, Quick Vehicles
Columbia’s daring and bedazzled paint scheme for Sunday’s Cup Collection race could look like an odd pairing, however the Bugaboo wrap is simply the most recent in a protracted line of NASCAR designs from the Portland model. Columbia really introduced its first motorsports partnership again in 2020.
Whereas the automotive carried the model’s identify, Columbia made clear it had entered America’s premier motor racing circuit to sponsor Wallace. At age 20, Wallace had change into the primary Black driver to win in a NASCAR nationwide sequence in 50 years.
“In addition to his racing talent, Bubba is a charismatic and courageous leader,” Joe Boyle, Columbia model president, mentioned in an announcement. “It is his internal fortitude that most aligns with the Columbia brand and our Tested Tough ethos. Bubba is a Tested Tough trailblazer and we are thrilled to be working with him.”
Within the 5 years since, Columbia has produced authentic paint schemes for the 23 to advertise its Omni-Warmth tech, PFG attire, and, most notably, its formally licensed Star Wars collections.
For his half, Wallace acknowledged a sizzling automotive is extra enjoyable to drive — and possibly quicker — than a boring one.
“The Bugaboo jacket is a staple piece in the Columbia Sportswear line, so it’s cool to see that iconic silhouette and turn it into a Toyota Camry,” the 31-year-old driver mentioned. “I’ve always been a firm believer in the saying ‘If you look good, you feel good, you play good.’ Needless to say, these schemes give me and the 23 team motivation to go out there and make the brand proud.”
Earlier than you get your hopes up, Columbia has not unveiled plans to rerelease the long-lasting ’80s-style Bugaboo. Nevertheless, Columbia nonetheless has a number of fashionable evolutions of the Bugaboo in line, and a tech-forward Powderkeg II Interchange Jacket that builds off the unique 3-in-1 idea from 40 years in the past.