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Shady stuff: Top 5 most ridiculous colour names for cars

29/01/2024

For as long as cars have existed, manufacturers have been painting them all sorts of whacky shades. Often, though, the names of these colours are just as weird and wonderful. Here’s some of the most bizarre.

When it comes to naming paint shades car makers get a rare opportunity to have some fun and inject a little personality into their new model. From the food-themed to the funny, you’ll wonder how these paint names ever got the final sign-off.

5. Tangerine Scream – Ford Focus ST

Ford Focus ST Tangerine Scream — Such a boisterous hot hatch demands a bold hue like Tangerine Scream.
Image credit: Ford

As ridiculous as it sounds, Tangerine Scream does seem to perfectly describe the lurid shade of orange Ford opted to paint its lairy Focus ST from 2005 onwards. While other colours were available, none seemed to match the hot Focus’s crazy charisma quite as well as this one.

4. Thundernight Metallic – BMW range

Back to the present day, and BMW’s most vibrant shade of purple – as seen here on the M240i – has been given a name that’s more emotive than humorous: Thundernight Metallic.

Conjuring images of stormy seas and flashes of lighting, Thundernight really adds some oomph to the squat sports coupe. While it might not be the coolest colour option for the 2 Series (that honour surely goes to Snapper Rocks Blue), it is the most unusual title in BMW’s paint palette.

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3. Sassy Grass/Go Green – 1970 Dodge Challenger

1970 Dodge Challenger Sassy Grass Green — Nothing about Dodge’s legendary Challenger is for shrinking violets – paint names included.
Image credit: Shutterstock

While Detroit’s Motown era is best known for thumping V8s, soul music, and cartoonish muscle cars, the motoring Mecca also coined some of history’s most barmy car colour names.

Of these, our favourite has to be Chrysler’s Sassy Grass (sometimes known as Go Green). Although the latter title might seem somewhat ironic these days – given the 7.2-litre, 10 mpg combined V8 under the ‘hood’ – back then the phrase referred to traffic light drag racing, not saving polar bears.

It’s nice to see Dodge has continued this extravagant naming tradition, with its latest fiery Challenger featuring shades like Hellraisin and Smoke Show.

2. Vanilla Shake – Kia Soul

Kia Soul Vanilla Shake — The Mk1 Kia Soul was certainly practical but, quirky colour names aside, there was little to get people talking.
Image credit: Kia

At the other end of the spectrum, Kia’s Soul is unlikely to set your pulse racing. In fact, its strange paint name is probably one of the most interesting parts of the car. Nevertheless, Vanilla Shake does a great job of jazzing-up the motoring equivalent of Magnolia. We’d love to see more manufacturers adopting fun food-themed paint titles like this.

1. Red ‘n’ Roll – Vauxhall Adam

Vauxhall Adam Red 'n' Roll — It might not have been as cute as the Fiat 500, but its colour names were undeniably more entertaining.
Image credit: Stellantis

While comical paint names are no substitute for genuine retro appeal, Vauxhall’s equivalent to the Fiat 500 (the Adam) was a masterstroke when it came to memorable colour labels.

From pop culture references like A-Star-is-Brown and Greenfellas, to Shades of Grey and Goldbusters, Vauxhall’s marketing division clearly had a field day with the Adam’s colour catalogue. It might not be the strongest car the brand has ever created but, as far as paint names go, it’s in a class of its own.

Can you think of any weird or unusual paint colour titles we’ve missed? Perhaps you’ve already owned a few of the shades on this list.

Hero image credit: BMW