deane30 30 Report post Posted September 11, 2009 (edited) I thought some of you may be interested in this info I found on the net explaining the origin of the ///M colours. I'm sure some of you already know. With regards to the red, a lot of people say it actually represents BMW's relationship with Castrol, rather than Texaco. Apparently Castrol was mentioned in a Roundel issue I'm not making any claims regarding the accuracy of this information so don't flame me personally if you think its wrong or you've heard different! The first Red stripe represented Texaco, the famous American oil retail brand, who had partnered with BMW during the early days of M racing. Blue represented BMW and Bavarian region. The purple was used to represent the partnership and to allow for a nice transition between the two colors, blending as some may call it. Once the BMW/Texaco partnership ended, BMW had to buyout Texaco for the rights to the red.Pantone: Blue - Pantone Process Blue (PMS 859) Purple - Pantone 268 (PMS 268) Red - Pantone Warm Red (PMS 836) Paint: blue violett - GLASURIT-BMW 4000 light blue - GLASURIT-BMW 5002 red - GLASURIT-BMW 353 RGB: Blue - 0 138 201 (Hex: 008AC9) Purple - 43 17 90 (Hex: 2B115A) Red - 241 26 34 (Hex: F11A22) Edited December 6, 2015 by _Ethrty-Andy_ 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grant 4 Report post Posted September 11, 2009 Interesting read, I have no idea where the colours came from, so this sounds good to me! Cheers Grant Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crazyarab 6 Report post Posted September 11, 2009 Very cool man, thanks for the colour codes too! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kento 0 Report post Posted September 15, 2009 Very cool man, thanks for the colour codes too! I understood the colours came from Martini as they were major sponsors of German motorsport during the early 70's period. Porsche, Lancia, etc fly these colours, and the early CSl Batmobiles are decribed as having "Martini Motorsport " stripes on them, and indeed were at some early stage sponsored by Martini. The Motorsport stripes as we see them today are a development from that period with a slight colour alteration, if I am to believe this story. The Castrol/Texaco story might be plausible, but I somehow think this is a myth. Would love to hear what others may have heard. - PP. Jono Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 35 Report post Posted September 16, 2009 Stickied for colour codes. Cheers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
emac 9 Report post Posted October 21, 2013 pantone is a of universal colour code used for ink, paint, powdercoats etc etc so you can go anywhere in the [civilized] world n get the correct colour by quoting the pantone code! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted December 6, 2015 Updated OP with more information and also to make it more legible, formatting lost during forum migration a year ago i suspect 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karter16 404 Report post Posted February 8, 2022 For what it’s worth bmw.com now have a page on this topic with a bunch of commentary and info from the archives, including mention of the possible “Texaco” origins of the red, and the shift from purple to dark blue, etc. https://www.bmw.com/en/automotive-life/bmw-m-logo-and-colors.html 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KwS 2425 Report post Posted February 8, 2022 Blue/Violet/Red for life Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
