To celebrate this year’s 80th anniversary of the famous Silver Arrows, Mercedes-Benz worked with a group of extremely talented digital artists who created images that tell a living story.
The Silver Arrows (Silberpfeil in German) stands out as a name given by the press to Germany’s dominant Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Grand Prix motor racing cars between 1934 and 1939. However, it’s the story behind the name that makes an interesting read.
Alfred Neubauer’s biography describes the origin of the Silver Arrows as being purely accidental. Back in 1934, regulations established a maximum weight limit of 750 kg for Grand Prix racing cars, excluding tires and fuel.
When Mercedes-Benz entered the competition with its new W25 racer, it allegedly weighted 751 kg. At that point, racing manager Alfred Neubauer and his driver Manfred von Brauchitsch had the idea of removing all the original white paint from the bodywork.
The story goes on that the next day the shining silver aluminium beneath was exposed and the Mercedes-Benz W25 passed the scrutineering scales. Later that day, the 350 hp W25 racer driven by von Brauchitsch won the race, and the nickname Silver Arrow was born.
In the video below you will see a selection of celebratory images which were created through an artistic process which uses a composite of real-world pictures of extras in period-correct dress and digital recreations of the cars and venues from that era. If you want to know more about the project, make sure you visit this special page created by Mercedes-Benz.
