British racing green
British Racing Green is the official international racecar color of Britain.
British Racing Green |
Officially Deep Brunswick Green, the dark green color was used for the uniforms of the cavalrymen of Braunschweig, Germany, and later by British riflemen in the late eighteenth century. The current British Royal Family traces its origin to the House of Hanover, also known as the House of Brunswick, Hanover Line, and Brunswick Green therefore acquired British national symbolism.
It was chosen as the color that large, fast British railway engines were painted, such as the Flying Scotsman, starting in the late nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, this heritage of speed resulted it in becoming the color chosen for British racing cars in international competition, before the system collapsed and cars were painted by advertisers.
In the days of the Gordon Bennett Cup, every component of a car had to be produced in the competing country, as well as the driver being of that nationality. The race was hosted in the country of the previous year's winner. When Selwyn Edge won the 1902 race for Britain it was decided that the 1903 race would be held in Ireland. As a mark of respect for their hosts the British cars were painted green and this has remained the traditional colour for British racing cars to this day.
William Grover-Williams, driving for Britain, won the very first Monaco Grand Prix in a dark green Bugatti. This colour became known as British Racing Green and was regarded as the "official" colour between 1962 and 1973, when British teams dominated Formula One and won twelve World Championships.
British Racing Green has British Standard Colour Code #BS 381 C, and can range from dark green to nearly black.
With the many successes of the British racing teams through the years, British Racing Green became a popular paint choice for British sports and luxury cars, and a popular choice for the Mini Cooper.