Silver Arrows

Although the term was coined in 1932,[1][2] it came into popular usage regarding Germany's dominant Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Grand Prix motor racing cars between 1934 and 1939.

On the other hand, Mercedes won the Italian Targa Florio with cars painted red in 1922 (Giulio Masetti) and 1924 (Christian Werner), blending in with the local competitors.

The big supercharged 200 hp Mercedes-Benz SSKL with which Rudolf Caracciola won the 1931 Mille Miglia was called the White Elephant.

In 1934 the international governing body of motor sport prescribed a maximum weight limit of 750 kg (1,653 lb) for Grand Prix racing cars, excluding tyres and fuel.

Racing manager Alfred Neubauer and his driver Manfred von Brauchitsch, who both later published their memoirs, claimed that they had the idea of removing all the white lead-based paint from the bodywork.

The next big event was the 1934 Eifelrennen, but as few cars complying to the new rules were ready, it was held for Formule Libre, so weight was still not a race-critical issue at that time.

[citation needed] The names Rudolf Caracciola, Bernd Rosemeyer, Hermann Lang, and later Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio, will always be associated with the eras of these racing cars.

[13] The modern cars race with the majority of their bodies painted in a traditional silver shade, trimmed in Petronas green.

For the 2019 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim the cars raced in a special livery honouring the origins of their silver colour and to also celebrate the team's 200th start in F1.

[16] The 2024 car, the Mercedes W15, sported a livery with the famous silver returning to complement the iconic black of recent seasons.

The car went on to appear at various events, in promotion of Mercedes' Formula E entry, including the 89th Geneva International Motor Show.

In July 2020, prior the season resuming after the COVID-19 pandemic, Mercedes brought back and updated the pre-season black livery to unify it with the design used on the F1 W11 EQ Performance car.