For those of you who don't know this (especially the younger ones), this answers those and other questions:

One thing not in the article below is why the Legend of the Silver Arrow is Silver. According to my research, this is because the company now known as Mercedes-Benz (don't know what the name was at that time, or what the time even was) had an idea to save weight on their cars. They were supposed to be white, so they got by with omitting the paint on the silver-tone metal parts.

EDIT: Also, some drivers (maybe most or all?) began to drive in colors representative of their national origin rather than their team's nationality. For example, there were some Belgian drivers who raced yellow Ferraris for Italy.

code:

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         THE COLOR IN RACING    (ROAD AND TRACK- 1960)
    REFERENCES are often made, in R&T, to the "red"  cars
        from  Ferrari  or  Maserati,   the   "green"   cars   from
    Vanwall, Aston Martin or  Jaguar  and  the  "white"  or  "sil-
    ver" cars from Mercedes-Benz.
       These are not arbitrary colors  picked  by  each  construc-
    tor for his cars (except in the  case  of  strictly  national,
    local or club  competition,  where  anything  goes),  but  are
    the result of a decision reached in the early days of  racing.
    Cars were, and still are,  distinguishable  by  assigned  num-
    bers,  but  further  separation  (prompted  no  doubt  by  na-
    tionalistic feelings) was felt desirable.  This is  why  racing
    cars from Italy are red,  the  cars  from  England  are  green
    and the  cars  from  Germany  are  white  (or  sometimes  sil-
    ver-the  result  of  leaving  the  aluminum  body  unpainted).
       A private  owner  will  generally  paint  his  car  in  the
    color(s) of his  own  country,  rather  than  the  manufactur-
    er's.  According to the C.S.I.  of  the  F.I.A.,  "The  use  of
    distinctive colors  of  nationality  is  compulsory  when  the
    supplementary  regulations  of  the  competition  require  it.
    These  colors  are  determined  by  the  nationality  of   the
    competitor."  So,   a   Ferrari   owned   by   an   Englishman
    would be painted green, even though it  was  an  Italian  car.
       Thus, it has become a  tradition  for  racing  cars  to  be
    painted in the colors of the entrant, although  they  are  oc-
    casionally seen  with  minor  variations.  Mercedes,  for  ex-
    ample,  honored  Englishman  Richard   Seaman,   who   was   a
    Mercedes  team  driver,  with  a  green  border   around   the
    grille opening  of  his  car.  The  shrewd  Germans  had  also
    noted that this would allow  quick  identification  if  Seaman
    and one of  the  other  Mercedes  drivers  (who  would  be  in
    identical cars) chanced to pass rapidly by  the  pits  at  the
    same time.
       Because  these  colors  were  assigned  during   the   days
    when racing cars  possessed  chassis  that  were  visible  be-
    neath  the  body,  many  countries  have  a   combination   of
    colors: one for the body,  one  for  the,  chassis  and  some-
    times another for some other  part,  such  as  the  wheels  or
    hood.  This  presented  a  problem  when   streamlining   came
    into fashion and the chassis  disappeared  from  sight.  As  a
    consequence, the color formerly allotted  to  the  chassis  is
    now applied in the form of stripes  or  other  trim  over  the
    color assigned to  the  body  by  the  Code  Sportif  Interna-
    tional  of  the  Federation  Internationale  de  L'Automobile.
       To further simplify (or  complicate)  matters,  green,  the
    color assigned to the British Empire, is used as a  basis  for
    all  cars  from  England  and  its  possessions.  The  common-
    wealth  countries  use  green  as  a  body  color  with  other
    colors, at their choice,  as  stripes.  Canada,  for  example,
    uses two white stripes 4 in. wide, one on  each  side  of  the
    car's centerline and 6 in. apart.
       British racing green, to  dispel  some  of  the  arguments,
    is not any particular shade of  green,  but  Napier  green  is
    preferred.  Stirling  Moss  drove  a  light  sea-green  BRM  in
    the 1959  French  Grand  Prix.  This  was  quite  contrary  to
    the accepted general  opinion  of  what  constitutes  "British
    Racing Green" but was, nevertheless, acceptable.
       The color applied to a racing car has also  had  its  share
    of side  effects.  For  many  years  U.S.  drivers  would  not
    drive in, or in  competition  with,  cars  painted  any  shade
    of green; they believed the color  to  be  unlucky.  This  has
    diminished in recent years, especially  since  the  advent  of
    more British international competition.
       The chart lists the racing colors of each  country  as  as-
    signed by  the  C.S.I.  The  car  number  and  its  background
    color, a necessary aid to identity, are made  to  contrast  as
    as much as possible to aid race  officials  and  lap  scorers.
    Colors assigned to chassis or  underframe  in  the  chart  are
    now applied to stripes or trim.
    COUNTRY         COLORS OF CAR            NUMBERS
    Argentina       Body: blue               red on white
                    Hood: yellow
                    Chassis: black
    Belgium         Body:  yellow            black
    Brazil          Body: pale yellow        black
                    Chassis and wheels:green
    Bulgaria        Body: green              red
                    Hood: white
    Canada          Body: green              white
                    Stripes: white
    Chile           Body: red                half blue-
                    Hood: blue               half red or
                    Underframe: white        all red on white
    Cuba            Body: yellow             white on black
                    Hood: black
    Czecho-         Body: white              blue
    slovakia        Hood: blue and white
                    Underframe: red
    Egypt           Pale violet              red on white
    Finland         Black                    blue on white
    France          Blue                     white
    Germany         White                    red
    Great           Green                    white
    Britain
    Holland         Orange                   white
    Hungary         Body, front: white       black
                    Body, rear: green
                    Hood: red
    Irish Free      Green with horizontal    white
    State           band of orange around
                    body
    Italy           Red                      white
    Luxem-          Pearlgray                white on red
    burg
    Mexico          Gold                     white on black
    Monaco          White with red hori-     black on white
                    zontal band around
                    body
    Poland          Body and hood: white     red
                    Underframe: red
    Portugal        Body and hood: red       white
                    Underframe: white
    Scotland        Green                    white
    South           Body: Gold               black on white
    Africa          Hood: green
    Spain           Hood: yellow             black on yellow
                    Body and chassis: red    white on red
    Sweden          Body and hood, lower     white
                    part:blue-upper:yellow
                    Three cross bands of
                    blue on top of hood
    Switzer-        Hood: white              black
    land            Body and underframe:
                    red
    Thailand        Body and hood:           white on blue
                    pale blue with yellow
                    horizontal band around
                    body and hood
                    Wheels: pale yellow
    United          Body and hood: white     blue on white
    States          Underframe: blue
    Venezuela       Body:  white
                    Stripe:green

---

[This message has been edited by FieroGT42 (edited 10-13-2005).]

"British Racing Green was first seen in 1901 when a British company named Napier entered a car painted Napier Green in the Gordon Bennett Trophy. The car was driven by Australian driver Selwyn Francis who replaced his Dunlop tires with French tires after he had several punctures driving to the race. He was later disqualified, as this was against the rules."

Also, the British Standard color, or should I say colour, for "British Racing Green" is BS 381 C.

It was also defined somewhere that British cars should preferably be a "deep brunswick green".

This is also an interesting excerpt:
"... But M. Clément gave me a reason for this. He explained that my number in the race was 13, and the reason it had been allotted to me was because no one else would have it. But they had been struck with the happy idea of painting the car green (the French lucky colour) with the object of nullifying the bad effect of the unlucky number. However, it mattered not to me ..." - Ten Years of Motors and Motor Racing by Charles Jarrott pp 103-104

[This message has been edited by FieroGT42 (edited 10-12-2005).]

Whats with you and all the racing stripes / color info , Like Road and Track (1960)? lol Weird.

Canada Body: green white Stripes: white

Alright so now I know the new colors of my car.. hahah soo fugly.. haha

------------------

Custom Fiero Fiberglass

Good info. That's why early Trans Ams were only available in white, with a blue stripe.
In the early 70's you could get white w/ blue stripe or blue w/ white stripe. It wasn't until '73 that other colors were available.

[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 10-13-2005).]

quote Originally posted by Formula88:

Left out Japan. White with black on red numbers I think.

The colors were 'assigned' to nations for racing cars like in the LeMans series sports car races. You could tell what country, if not the make by just watching the colors of the cars in the races. This has tended to be disregarded in later years. For example, all cars from the USA were white with blue stripes or blue with white stripes (hence the blue and wht TAs and Mustangs), Italian cars were red, British cars were green (olive green/British racing green), German were silver...every country had their own color or combination of colors. European fans at the time didnt particularly root for brands as much as they did nationality...Germans were thrilled if their silver cars won whether or not they were Mercedes, Porsche or BMW. Same with Americans when there were Cobras, GT40s, Corvettes.

When you watch the new A1 series you'll see they are using most of these colors again.... unlike the F1 its not about the manufacturers and drivers alone, but about several countries competing with the same car and engine. Only difference is paint scheme and driver. So far its more competitive and fun to watch..

Custom2M4, I just thought it was interesting to remember how things like that originated, and I think it's important to never let history vanish.

I think it would be a sad day indeed when nobody could explain why those cars were/are certain colors other than sellout sponsorships (i.e. Ferrari going to a red that looks like Marlboro on TV) or if there was nobody left to laugh at some idiot with racing stripes on the passenger's side only.

Besides, I a few people here have probably wondered at one time or another.