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Colors · value from the xkcd color survey (2010)

British racing green color: hex #05480D, RGB and palettes

British racing green is #05480D (RGB 5, 72, 13), the xkcd survey value: a very dark, rich green. White text on it measures 10.82:1, and cream does nearly as well, so it suits formal, classic designs.

By Paul Gunder. Every value is computed from published standards; see how ColorPlum works.

Updated

ColorPlum swatchBritish racing greendark, moderately saturated green
HEX
#05480D
RGB
rgb(5, 72, 13)
HSL
hsl(127, 87%, 15%)

Best text on it: white at 10.82:1

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Every code for British racing green

  • HEX#05480D
  • RGBrgb(5, 72, 13)
  • HSLhsl(127, 87%, 15%)
  • HSV127°, 93%, 28%
  • CMYK93%, 0%, 82%, 72%
  • Lablab(25.9% -30.2 27.5)
  • OKLCHoklch(35% 0.109 144.1)
  • Decimal346125

Tints, shades and tones

From white to black in 10% steps, with British racing green in the middle. Tap a code to copy it.

  1. 90%#E6EDE7
  2. 80%#CDDACF
  3. 70%#B4C8B6
  4. 60%#9BB69E
  5. 50%#82A486
  6. 40%#69916E
  7. 30%#507F56
  8. 20%#376D3D
  9. 10%#1E5A25
  10. Base#05480D
  11. 10%#05410C
  12. 20%#043A0A
  13. 30%#043209
  14. 40%#032B08
  15. 50%#032407
  16. 60%#021D05
  17. 70%#021604
  18. 80%#010E03
  19. 90%#010701

Tones (mixed with gray)

  1. 10%#114E19
  2. 20%#1E5324
  3. 30%#2A5930
  4. 40%#365E3B
  5. 50%#436447
  6. 60%#4F6A52
  7. 70%#5B6F5E
  8. 80%#677569
  9. 90%#747A75

Matching colors

Complementary
Analogous
Triadic
Split complementary
Tetradic (square)
Monochromatic
  • #011303
  • #011303
  • #05480D
  • #0A901A
  • #0FD727

British racing green in 3D color space

OKLab, the space ColorPlum does its math in: lightness runs up the pole, hue goes around it and saturation grows outward. The faint shell is every color a screen can show (saturation is drawn wider than lightness so hues separate). Drag to turn it.

British racing green with its complement, its triad and its tint and shade
  • British racing green
  • Triad #0D0548
  • Triad #480D05
  • Complement
  • 50% tint
  • 50% shade

British racing green in use

New collectionAutumn edit

Card body text stays dark for reading; british racing green carries the header and the button.

Shop nowTag

Headline in British racing green

A paragraph with a link set in this color, which is dark enough for text on white.

How it looks with color-vision deficiency

A simulation (Machado and colleagues, 2009) of how the color and its complement read without one type of cone.

  • Typical color vision#05480D
  • Protanopia (no red cones)#4A4004
  • Deuteranopia (no green cones)#433B13
  • Tritanopia (no blue cones)#00463D

Contrast and readability

PairingRatioWCAG 2.2
as text on white10.82:1AA AA large AAA
as text on black1.93:1AA AA large AAA
white text on it10.82:1AA AA large AAA
black text on it1.93:1AA AA large AAA
on your background9.45:1AA AA large AAA

Export

:root {
  --british-racing-green: #05480d;
  --british-racing-green-rgb: 5 72 13;
  --british-racing-green-on: #ffffff;
}
On this page

British racing green is usually linked to the national color used by British cars in early international motor racing, and the name stuck as a way to describe a deep, dark green with a classic feel. It is not in the CSS list, and there is no single agreed code for it. The page shows #05480D from the xkcd survey, in which people were shown colors and asked to name them.

The codes

The RGB reading is 5, 72, 13, almost all green with a little blue and a trace of red. In HSL it is hue 127°, 87% saturation and just 15% lightness, so it is strongly colored but very dark. The CMYK figures are 93%, 0%, 82%, 72%, and the decimal value is 346125. Treat those print numbers as estimates, since real inks and paper change the result.

Names around it overlap heavily. The survey's "forest green" (#06470C) sits only 0.3 away in OKLab, and "bottle green" (#044A05) is 1.0 away. The CSS darkgreen (#006400) is 9.5 away, noticeably brighter. Since clubs and brands each define their own version, use the code you were given by the brand, and treat this one as a good general-purpose reference.

Pairing and contrast

  • Light text on it: white gives 10.82:1, a warm cream such as #FFF8E7 gives 10.22:1, and the pale tint #E6EDE7 gives 9.09:1. All of them pass AAA.
  • It as text: on white it also measures 10.82:1, which makes it a strong heading color. On black it fails at 1.93:1.
  • Complement: the opposite is a deep plum, #480540. The triadic partners are navy-leaning #0D0548 and an oxblood brown, #480D05.
  • Lighter steps: the 70% to 90% tints, from #B4C8B6 to #E6EDE7, are quiet sage greens for panels.

Cream, brass and tan are the classic companions, which is where the vintage car-badge look comes from.

Worked example

Say you are designing a poster for a local vintage car meet. The background is the full green, the title is set in cream #FFF8E7, and the details sit in the same cream at a smaller size. That pairing measures 10.22:1, so the small print is readable even when printed on a screen across a parking lot. For a ticket price box you use a lighter tint, #CDDACF, as fill with green text on it, which gives 7.49:1. You skip black outlines entirely, since black against this green is almost invisible, and use thin cream rules instead.

Brighter alternatives include hunter green and dusty green. For a seasonal pairing with red, see the Christmas color palettes, and to try your own text pair, use the contrast checker.

Sources

  1. xkcd, Color survey results: the 954 most common color names (Randall Munroe, 2010; checked 2026-11-10) xkcd.com
  2. xkcd, Color survey results (blog post by Randall Munroe, 2010; checked 2026-11-10) blog.xkcd.com
  3. W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2: contrast minimum (checked 2026-11-10) w3.org