Green, Red & In Between

The colors in the post title refers to the mostly green and red sports cars on display at the "Show of Dreams" car show in Hudson, NH, sponsored by British Cars of New Hampshire (BCNH) last weekend. On display were some 200 cars in 25 classes of British, American and International antique and classic cars. The show was a fund raising event with entry fees paid by car owners donated to the New Hampshire Food Bank. 

2024 Show of Dreams poster

BCNH was established in 1991 by a member of the New Hampshire Chapter of British Motor Cars of New England, headquartered in Fall River, MA. Since there were no activities in NH or Southern Maine, NH, car enthusiasts formed a new club to fit the needs of British sports car enthusiasts here. 

As membership grew, BCNH sponsored its first annual British Car Show in June 1997, attracting over 100 British car owners from throughout the New England area. BCNH has held the "Show of Dreams" annually aside from its cancellation in 2021 due to Covid, and always benefitting an area organization.

Having attended this show previously, we noticed, once again, that the most prominent car color was what's become known as "British Racing Green" or BRG. 

Perhaps not everyone knows why it's called that or how it became recognized as the official color of international motor racing in the UK. Curious to learn more, I did find out and soon you will as well.

Why BRG is the Official Color of Motor Sports in the UK

In the early 1900s, British racers were effectively barred from competition in the because the national speed limit on all British roads was very low. Car racing on public roads was illegal. To compete, UK racers traveled to mainland Europe, where speeds were higher. When Britain first competed in 1902, it had to choose a different color from its national colors of red, white and blue. Racers in Italy, Germany, and France had already made that trio of British colors their own. 

So, when Britain hosted the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup the following year on a closed course at Athy in Ireland, the British adopted Shamrock green which later evolved into various shades of "British racing green."

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. Because of the British restriction on road speed, the race was held in Athy, near Dublin. British racers, in deference to their hosts for the home race, the British cars were painted a dark shade of emerald green.

There's no exact hue for BRG which is a collection of emerald to dark green nuances. The term denotes a spectrum of deep, rich greens. "British racing green" in motor sport terms meant only the color green. Its application to a specific shade has developed outside the sport. Over the years, BRG has deepened in shade akin to  “forest green.” It's still associated with many heritage British brands of cars like Jaguar, Aston Martin, Lotus, Land and Range Rover. 

What about Racing Red?

Red is traditionally popular with sports cars and drivers who want to stand out. The bold color makes a car appear flamboyant and sporty. Rosso Corsa or 'Racing Red', is the historic international color of Italian racing cars. Since the 1920s Italian race cars of Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia, and later Ferrari and Abarth have been painted in "racing red." Wile there may have been some Italian models in this show, all the autos above are British makes. 

Various shades of both green and red were prominently on display at last weekend's show when looking down the lineups of cars.

Yellow is viewed as an exotic color for sports cars. It's the actual color of Ferrari Racing. Auto fans are familiar with the iconic Ferrari logo of an all-black horse prancing on a yellow background. Yellow is the main color in the iconic Lotus emblem; the center car in the collage above bears that emblem.

While there were a number of cars in blue, this color wasn't the most featured color.  The McLaren sports car shown above is made by McLaren Automotive, a British luxury automotive manufacturer based in Woking, England. The main products of the company are sports cars produced in-house in designated production facilities. Sadly, the company's founder, Bruce McLaren, died in 1970 at age 32 when his race car crashed. He was testing a new McLaren car when the rear bodywork broke up.

We spent a couple of enjoyable hours at this show looking at these sports cars, none of which we will ever own and which their owners proudly showed off. It's always nice to find a weekend event so close by and free as well.