PODCAST: Still drawing crowds after 30 years
Race car design veteran Peter Hughes tells Mark Fogarty that he’s just getting started
After more than three decades behind the scenes of some of Australia’s most iconic motorsport liveries, Peter Hughes is enjoying a fresh wave of recognition. With his first NASCAR livery now under his belt and a recent feature in Wheels magazine, Hughes is far from slowing down.
Dubbed the “guru of race car livery,” Hughes told Supercars Travel Race for the Championship podcast that his longevity in the business comes from knowing when to set his ego aside.
“You’ve got to deliver what the people spending the money want,” he says.
“That’s how people come back for more work.”
Hughes’ career began at Holden, where he spent many years as a car designer. His understanding of car surfaces and design lines gave him an edge when translating branding onto complex automotive forms. While he never trained as a graphic artist, Hughes says this hasn’t held him back – instead, he collaborates with signage teams to turn his concepts into wrap-ready reality.
In recent years, the increasing number of sponsors per car has complicated his role.
“It’s not like the old days when one sponsor took the whole car,” he says.
“Now it’s about making everyone feel important and still producing a cohesive, standout design.”
Hughes has adapted by simplifying his aesthetic.
“Let the car do the work,” he says of the latest Gen3 machines.
“Use fewer stripes and let the sponsors breathe.”
He’s also stayed loyal to teams with deep personal connections, including Walkinshaw Andretti United and Triple Eight Race Engineering. His first livery for the Holden Racing Team in 1997 remains a favourite, but he also takes pride in designing the VE Commodore, a car he spent five years helping to shape from the ground up.
When Holden shut its doors, Hughes turned heartbreak into opportunity, launching his own design business. Initially focused on selling artwork and prints, he quickly returned to the pit lane, taking on new clients across Supercars and now in NASCAR.
Despite being a one-man operation, Hughes remains driven to maintain quality across the board.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Triple Eight or a new team, I want all my work to be high quality.”
Now working on the Toyota Supra Supercar livery ahead of its debut, Hughes shows no signs of slowing.
After more than 30 years, he’s an overnight success!
