This originated with the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup, held in Ireland (then still part of the UK), as motor-racing on public roads was illegal in Great Britain.

Initially the colour use only applied to the grandes épreuves, but was later codified in the Code Sportif International (CSI) of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for use in all international-level motor racing events.

The first recorded use of the darkest green shades was on the Bugatti of Briton William Grover-Williams, driving in the very first Monaco Grand Prix, in 1929.

In the 1950s and 1960s British teams such as Aston Martin, Vanwall, Cooper, Lotus, and BRM were successful in Formula One and Sports car racing, all in different shades of green.

Scottish teams such as Ecurie Ecosse and Rob Walker Racing used a dark blue, which did not strictly conform to the CSI rules but was tolerated by officials.

Although registered in Malaysia, the new team is based in Britain and chose BRG with the aim of "striking an emotional chord with young and old alike and evoking memories of some of motor racing most iconic moments".

Paying tribute to the small British roadsters of the 1960s that inspired the Mazda MX-5 (such as the Triumph Spitfire, Austin-Healey Sprite, MG MGB and the Lotus Elan), Mazda produced a limited edition version of the model in 1991 and 2001 called the "British Racing Edition", which included green paint.

[10] Similarly, the modern BMW-owned Mini Hatchback marque, which is assembled at their Oxford, Birmingham and Swindon factories,[11] includes a BRG colour option.

For the 2021 season, the team used the iconic British racing green as their livery for the AMR21, as Aston Martin returned after being away from the sport as a constructor for 61 years.