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The Mercedes-Benz Silver Lightning, also called the Silver Arrow, is a 
''Silver Lightning'' short film
{{Mercedes-Benz Silver Lightning
concept car
A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...
built for the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show Design Challenge, where it won the best animation award for their short film ''Silver Lightning''. It was conceived by the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studio in Carlsbad, California
Carlsbad is a coastal city in the North County region of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is south of downtown Los Angeles and north of downtown San Diego. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 114,746. ...
, who also previously created the Mercedes-Benz Biome. This car has been featured in the popular mobile racing video game
Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...
s '' Asphalt 8: Airborne'' and '' Asphalt Nitro''.
The Silver Lightning drew heavy inspiration from the 1930s Silver Arrow race cars, most notably the Mercedes-Benz W125
The Mercedes-Benz W125 was a Grand Prix racing car designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut to race during the 1937 Grand Prix season. The car was used by Rudolf Caracciola to win the 1937 European Championship and W125 drivers also finished in the second, t ...
driven by Rudolf Caracciola
Otto Wilhelm Rudolf CaracciolaBolsinger and Becker (2002), p. 63 (30 January 1901 – 28 September 1959) was a racing driver from Remagen, Germany. He won the European Drivers' Championship, the pre-1950 equivalent of the modern Formula One Wo ...
that won the 1937 Grand Prix, as well as the famous 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (W 196 S) was a 2-seat sports racing car that took part in the 1955 World Sportscar Championship before a catastrophic crash and fire at Le Mans later that year ended its domination prematurely. The car ...
designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut
Rudolf Uhlenhaut (15 July 1906 – 8 May 1989) was a British-German engineer, driving engineer for Mercedes-Benz, and the father of Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and 300 SLR. He had a long association with the Mercedes-Benz racing programme of the 1930s ...
. The design theme was also influenced by some sci-fi movies, such as ''Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'', '' Tron: Legacy'' and '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones''.
The car's sleek, futuristic appearance also comes with innovative features as well. Its roof is constructed of several pieces of small, lightweight magnetic squares, and uses ''Mag-Tech'' technology that allows them to either combine to form a hardtop
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, which for modern cars is typically constructed from metal. A hardtop roof can be either fixed (i.e. not removable), detachable for separate storing or retractable within the vehicle itself.
The ...
, or retracted to convert the car into a roadster. The omni-directional wheels allow the Silver Lightning to be able to steer freely in any direction, and are enclosed in rings integrated within the car's main body.
To comply with the competition's theme of designing "Hollywood’s Hottest New Movie Car", it was accompanied by a short film called ''Silver Lightning'', which features two crash test dummies
Crash Test Dummies are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The band is most identifiable through Brad Roberts (vocals, guitar) and his distinctive bass-baritone voice. The band members have fluctuated over the years, but its best kno ...
called ''Hans05'' and ''Franz02'' attempting and eventually succeeding in the rescue of their prized stolen Silver Lightning from Dr. Crash-Barrier, the main antagonist of the movie.
Video Game Appearances
This concept car appeared in Asphalt 8: Airborne as an S-class car and Asphalt Nitro In class SReferences
External links
''Silver Lightning'' short film
{{Mercedes-Benz Silver Lightning