Before (we’re talking late 19th and early 20th centuries) we went from A to B in horse-drawn carriages. When carriages made the jump to automobiles, they were generally painted in the color of carriages, like black or gray, what Makes sense right? We didn’t know any more. And these colors were inexpensive, although they didn’t have the longest lifespan.
As time passed, and so did the painting process, other colors were introduced in 1910, including green, red and gray. The Roaring Twenties was a vibrant era that brought color to people’s lives, and the auto industry realized that drivers wanted to reflect this newfound extravaganza in the cars they drove, bringing maroon, blues, and creams to lacquer car culture. The cream color was usually reserved for the luxury market, Cadillacs and Buicks. Ironically, Ford compromised their sales by playing it safe and sticking to black.
When did the rainbow revolution for the auto industry begin?
Auto and classic
The 1950s brought a whole new color concept with Two-Tone! And then bright and vibrant colors like lime green were introduced in the 1960s! The Far Army marched on, and by the 2000s, silver, oddly enough, was the most popular color. Weird because it has somehow reverted to the older plain colors of the 1900s but remains the most popular car color in North America.
What colors are used by different automakers?
Auto-ALOT
So we have to consider British Racing Green even though it’s across the pond. It is used by top British racing teams, and Jaguar used British Racing Green when they returned to Formula 1 in 2000. Likewise, Bentley chose British Racing Green when they drove in the 2001, 2001 and 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Surprisingly (but maybe not) yellow was Ferrari’s original color choice. As Vincent Van Gogh once said, “How wonderful yellow is. It represents the sun. ”In fact, 70 years after Ferrari created the jumping horse, Enzo Ferrari chose yellow as his emblem and, interestingly, yellow is also a symbol of the city from which Scuderia Ferrari came, in Modena.
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Only after the Association Internationale des Automobile Club Reconnus (today FIA – Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) had recognized red as the official color of Italy, did Ferrari choose the “Rosso Corsa” for its cars. However, the color yellow continues to be one of the best colors for supercars.
What does Porsche say?
Supercar
Porsche has been using “Guards Red” as a color representative for over 45 years. Also known as India Red, this was one of 15 colors used on the iconic 911 RSRs of the 1973s and 1974s. Guards Red lived a whole story (for a color!). Guards Red has dressed the 911, 959, Carrera GT and 918 Spyders and even featured them on National Geographic.
The color revolution
As we head into the 21st century, we certainly need a little more excitement than the basics of black, green, yellow, and red, right? So what do we have? Although red is the color of the day, orange is the new kid on the block who is really qualified to scream “look at me”. Of course, it has to be on the right car. The current supercar colors of orange, purple, green look spectacular on the right car, but these cars just don’t work on the wrong car, so it’s our job to choose the right car for the job.
Orange is the new red!
Formula1.com
The McLaren F1 road car is stunning and goes absolutely perfectly with the color orange, so McLaren adopted the color for their Formula 1 racing team and named it Papaya Orange.
Interestingly, the McLaren F1 Team is showcasing races with a Mercedes engine and Mercedes is showcasing their stunning AMG GT in Magma Orange that surpasses all expectations for elite status, beauty, power, speed and ultimate luxury.
Mercedes-AMG
This beast of a car produces a fat 730 hp thanks to the lush 4.0-liter V8 engine under the orange bonnet! Even in orange, this car races to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds and can reach a staggering line speed of 202 mph.
But then the Lambo …
Wikimedia Commons
The Lamborghini is like one of those girls who can wear anything and still look great! Pull up a Lambo in an orange, purple, yellow, green, red, blue, matte or glossy finish and this car has it!
The colors on supercars like Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Porsche work really well, but those colors don’t really apply to everyday cars.
If you have the money for a classic car, stick with the classic colors of green, red, yellow. However, if you are looking for a big supercar, commit to a vibrant one and scream for orange, purple, or green. Most supercars these days will absolutely absorb and enhance these colors with their fine lines and superior performance.
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About the author
Nicole Carling
(17 articles published)
Nicole is based in the UK and has been fortunate to have worked in Formula 1 for over 20 years. She was with Red Bull Racing for 15.5 years before moving to North Devon to pursue her dream of writing from home. The combination of cars and writing is a win-win situation. Photo credit: Mark Thompson, Getty Images
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