Letter from Isabel: British Racing Green
When we opened our first Connolly shop in the old Belgravia Riding Stables the architect Andree Putman and I felt very strongly that the colour of the mews doors and paint work should be dark racing green …It was a colour closely connected to Connolly and our automotive history; from the seats on the House of Commons to the racing cars of the twenties and thirties … and now as a very special upholstery leather colour in the ‘made to order’ department at Ferrari.
Everyone is able to recognise British Racing Green in the automotive field and knows it is the official colour of international motor racing in the United Kingdom. What perhaps not everyone knows, is its history. BRG was first seen in 1903, during the Gordon Bennett Cup (predecessor to today’s Grand Prix) in Ireland, then still part of the United Kingdom. Car racing on public roads was illegal in Britain, as the national speed limit was just 12 mph, but the competition was still held thanks to Ireland's support. As a mark of respect, according to legend, British racers painted their cars in homage to the green isle for hosting the race… and British Racing Green (or BRG) was born.
Races within the Gordon Bennett Cup took place on the public roads, often from city to city, and each car was required to consist entirely of components manufactured in their home country and that included the driver. To make national identification of the participants easier, countries were asked to adopt a national racing colour. France took blue, Belgium yellow, white for Germany and the Italians chose red.
For over a hundred years British Racing Green has been chosen as the racing colour of the nation On the track, British racing green continues to be used by top-level British teams. Jaguar used the famous hue for their return to Formula One in 2000. Bentley raced at the 2001, 2002 and 2003 Le Mans 24 Hour with their Speed 8 painted in a very dark shade of green. In 2010 Lotus lined up on the Formula One grid with team cars finished in British Racing Green. Aston Martin, who returned to Formula One in 2021 with a British Racing Green car, had previously campaigned green DBR9 racing cars within numerous endurance series.
But it isn’t just the body of the car that carries BRG at Connolly we made upholstery leather to reflect the nations colour. And today we make luggage in this famous tradition.
- Isabel
