Here’s How British Racing Green Became The Most Legendary Color In Motorsports History

British racing green is a product of the imposition of national color patterns on racing vehicles, but the choice to shade the racers green came out of necessity rather than a cogent choice in the early days.

British racers were effectively barred from competition in the early 1900s due to a national speed limit on all British roads (set at just 12 miles per hour), according to Auto Week. This resulted in a generation of racing talent being held back by national restrictions on the practical application of the sport. In order to compete, racers from the UK had to travel over to mainland Europe, a continent lacking this significant roadway hindrance. As such, racers in Italy, Germany, and France had already made the trio of British colors their own.

In combination with the need to paint the cars a different color, the 1902 Gordon Bennett Cup was won by the British driver Selwyn Edge, ensuring that his home turf would play host for the 1903 race (via Into Kildare). Because of the British restriction on road speed (and colonial ownership of the whole island of Ireland that would last only a few more years), the race ended up settling in Athy, near Dublin. British racers, in deference to their cousins of the Isles and hosts for the home race, donned an even darker shade of emerald green, cementing this iconic tone in history.