Original Factory Paint Colours & British Racing Green

The MG T-Series was never painted in a colour called "British Racing Green" at the factory. Abingdon used named nitrocellulose shades, Apple Green on the pre-war cars, Shires and Almond Green in the TC years, Woodland Green on the TD, and Almond and Sherwood Green on the TF. "BRG" is a national racing colour, not a paint code, and the exact shade shifted decade by decade. If you want a period-correct car, match the specific factory name for your model and year, not a modern tin labelled BRG.

What colour is British Racing Green?

There is no single official shade. British Racing Green is a national racing colour, assigned to British entries in international motor sport from the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup, not a paint code, and it has ranged from an almost-black green to lighter, brighter greens. MG never used the name at Abingdon: its greens changed by period, from Apple Green on the pre-war cars, through Shires and Almond Green on the TC and Woodland Green on the TD, to Almond and Sherwood Green on the TF.

Where British Racing Green came from

British Racing Green was Britain's international motor-racing colour. It originated with the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup, which was held in Ireland because racing on public roads was illegal in Great Britain. The British cars were painted shamrock green as a mark of respect, partly because red, white and blue had already been taken by other nations (source: Wikipedia, British racing green). The colour was later carried by British racing makes such as Napier, Bentley, Vanwall, Cooper, Lotus and BRM.

British Racing Green colour codes

Answer-first: what was actually on the car

• TA (1936–39): nitrocellulose lacquer. Standard palette included Apple Green, Duo-Blue, Duo-Green, black and maroon. There was no "BRG" option.
• TB (1939): same lacquer chemistry, same short list of colours, production was cut off by the war before a wider palette landed.
• TC (1945–49): post-war austerity meant a very short list. Shires Green, Almond Green, black, MG Red (Regency Red) and Clipper Blue account for almost every car.
• TD (1949–53): Woodland Green, Almond Green, Ivory, Black, MG Red and Clipper Blue. Woodland is the darker, more familiar "MG green" of the 1950s.
• TF and TF 1500 (1953–55): Almond Green, Sherwood Green, Black, Ivory, MG Red and Birch Grey. Two-tone schemes appeared on the TF.

All T-Series cars left Abingdon in nitrocellulose lacquer, not modern acrylic or two-pack. That matters if you are trying to match an original patch under the bonnet or on the inside of a door.

The T-Series timeline

1936 – 1955 · tap a marker to explore

1. 1936

   MG TA, the series begins

   The first T-Type replaces the overhead-cam Midgets.

2. 1939

   MG TB, the XPAG arrives

   The engine that would define the T-Series appears.

3. 1939

   Australian Grand Prix

   Allan Tomlinson wins the handicap event in an MG TA.

4. 1939–45

   Production halted, war work

   Abingdon cleared of cars for tanks, aircraft parts and guns.

   Production halted, war work

5. Sept 1945

   MG TC, the first postwar MG

   First car off the line on 17 September 1945.

6. 1948

   Watkins Glen

   Eight TCs in a field of fifteen at the first American GP.

7. 1949

   TC EXU

   A US-specification TC.

8. 1950

   MG TD, the one that sold

   Independent front, disc wheels, left-hand drive.

9. 1952

   BMC formed

   MG absorbed into the British Motor Corporation.

10. 1953

    MG TF, the restyle

    Faired-in headlamps and a sloping grille.

11. Late 1954

    TF1500, XPAG becomes XPEG

    The engine grows to 1,466 cc.

12. 1955

    End of an era

    Production ceases; the modern MGA takes over.

13. 2002

    The name returns

    MG revives 'TF' on an unrelated mid-engined car.

Model launch Historical event End of the T-Series 2002 footnote

1936, MG TA, the series begins

3,003 built · £222 new

Bigger, more comfortable and pushrod-powered, the TA opened the T-Series in 1936. It was originally called simply the 'T Type', the name TA only came into use once the TB arrived. Steel body over ash frame on a separate chassis.

What "British Racing Green" actually means

British Racing Green is a national racing colour, assigned to British entries in international motor sport from the Gordon Bennett Cup of 1903 onwards. It is a category, not a formula. Over a century of racing, "BRG" has been everything from the very dark, almost-black green of the pre-war Bentleys and ERAs, through the mid-green of the 1950s Vanwalls and Lotus 25, to the lighter, brighter greens seen on Jaguars at Le Mans and BRMs in Formula 1.

Because it was never a single paint code, every marque interpreted it differently, and every era did too. When someone says "paint it BRG", they usually mean *a* dark green. When a judge at a concours says a T-Type looks "wrong in BRG", they usually mean it has been sprayed in a modern, generic dark green instead of the specific Abingdon shade the car left the factory in.

Abingdon never ordered a tin of paint labelled "British Racing Green". The factory ordered Apple Green, Shires Green, Almond Green, Woodland Green and Sherwood Green, each with its own ICI or Docker Brothers reference, and each subtly different from the next.

The Abingdon greens, in order

Apple Green (TA, some TB)

A bright, slightly yellow-tinged mid-green, closer to a modern "British Sports Car Green" than to any dark racing shade. Original Apple Green cars in daylight look almost cheerful next to a modern BRG restoration, a useful reminder that pre-war MG was still a small maker courting weekend drivers, not a works racing team.

Shires Green (TC)

A darker, slightly greyer green than Apple. Applied over primer and often finished with a dark-red or biscuit interior. Shires is the shade most often confused with "BRG" on surviving TCs, because in a sunless workshop the two look near-identical, but held to the light Shires has a warmer, softer note that generic BRG does not.

Almond Green (TC, TD, TF)

The longest-lived Abingdon green: introduced on the late TC, kept on the TD, and offered again on the TF. Almond is a pale, sage-like green, much lighter than most people expect. Many owners assume their Almond Green TF must have faded because the modern eye reads "green MG" as "dark green MG"; in fact the factory shade was always this soft.

Woodland Green (TD)

The classic "MG green" most people picture: a rich mid-to-dark green, deeper than Almond, warmer than the modern generic BRG. Woodland is the shade closest to what the pre-war Bentleys wore at Le Mans, and closest to what the eye now expects on a 1950s British sports car.

Sherwood Green (TF, TF 1500)

Introduced with the TF. Sherwood is a deep, cool, blue-shifted green, noticeably bluer than Woodland, and darker than Almond. On a two-tone TF (Sherwood over Ivory or Sherwood over Almond) it is unmistakable. This is the shade closest to the "BRG" the modern eye expects, and the one that has quietly become the default when people paint a T-Type "green" today.

Why factory paint codes matter

Two reasons, one practical and one financial.

Practical. Nitrocellulose lacquer looks different from modern two-pack. It is slightly softer, slightly matt when unpolished, and it sinks into the ash frame's grain in a way modern paint does not. A car resprayed in a generic modern BRG will read "wrong" to anyone who knows the marque, even if they cannot articulate why. Matching the correct factory shade, in the correct chemistry, where possible, is what separates a car that looks like a T-Type from one that looks like a nice green sports car.

Financial. In the concours world, and increasingly in the mainstream classic market, originality of colour is checked. A car in its original factory colour, confirmed by its factory record, is worth more than the same car repainted in generic BRG. When the factory record (available via the MG Car Club T-Register production records) lists the original colour, matching it back to the car during restoration is the single easiest way to protect value.

Matching an original patch

If your car has been repainted and you want to find the factory shade:

1. Look inside the boot lid, under the bonnet frame, and inside the door shuts. These areas often carry a surviving patch of the original nitrocellulose beneath later coats.
2. Look under the fuel tank on a TC or TD, an area rarely stripped in a repaint.
3. Take the patch to a specialist. Modern spectrophotometers can read even a small patch of old lacquer and give you a factory-matched formula. UK specialists including our recommended paint and trim suppliers can produce nitrocellulose or two-pack matches to Abingdon originals.
4. Cross-check the factory record. Where the record names the colour the car left in, as the T Register record and the Heritage Certificate do for a TF, a patch that matches that name gives you your answer.

The "correct" BRG for a T-Type

There is no single correct BRG for a T-Type, because Abingdon never used the label. If a customer asks a body shop for "British Racing Green" on a TD, the honest answer is a question: do you want your car repainted in its factory colour, or in a modern generic green? The two are not the same.

For most owners, the answer is the factory shade, Woodland on a TD, Sherwood or Almond on a TF, Shires or Almond on a TC. If you specifically want a racing-green feel, Sherwood is the closest of the Abingdon greens to what the modern eye reads as "BRG", and it is a genuine factory colour.

Frequently asked questions

What colour is British Racing Green?

There is no single official shade. British Racing Green is a national racing colour, assigned to British entries in international motor sport from the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup, not a paint code, and it has ranged from an almost-black green to lighter, brighter greens. MG never used the name at Abingdon: its greens changed by period, from Apple Green on the pre-war cars, through Shires and Almond Green on the TC and Woodland Green on the TD, to Almond and Sherwood Green on the TF.

Was any MG T-Series painted British Racing Green at the factory?

No. Abingdon never offered a colour called British Racing Green on the T-Series. It used named nitrocellulose shades, and a period-correct car should be matched to the specific factory name for its model and year.

Which Abingdon green is closest to British Racing Green?

Sherwood Green, introduced with the TF. It is a deep, cool, blue-shifted green, and it is the shade closest to what the modern eye reads as BRG, while still being a genuine factory colour.

What is the hex code for British Racing Green?

There is no exact official hue, so there is no official hex code. The commonly quoted web approximation is #004225, which is RGB 0, 66, 37. Treat it as a screen approximation, not a paint match.

Is British Racing Green an original MG T-Series colour?

No. Abingdon never offered a colour called British Racing Green on the T-Series. The BMC paints named British Racing Green No 1 and No 2 date from 1961 onwards, after T-Series production ended in 1955. For an original finish, match the factory green for the model: Apple Green on the TA, Shires or Almond Green on the TC, Woodland or Almond Green on the TD, and Almond or Sherwood Green on the TF.

How do I find my T-Type's original colour?

Look for surviving original lacquer inside the boot lid, under the bonnet frame, inside the door shuts and, on a TC or TD, under the fuel tank, then cross-check against the factory record: the MG Car Club T Register record, and for a TF the Heritage Certificate, name the colour the car left in.

Related reading

• MG T-Series Story: Abingdon to America, the wider history of the marque and how the paint palette fits into it.
• Look Up Your Car's Factory Record, the MG Car Club T-Register service that returns the original factory paint colour for your chassis number.
• The ash frame guide, why the underlying woodwork affects the finish, and why nitrocellulose behaves differently on ash than on steel.