For decades, until the introduction of sponsorship liveries, each country had its traditional colour in automobile racing. German race cars were silver, Italian cars were Rosso corsa red, British cars were British racing green, and French cars were Bleu de France blue. German cars like the Blitzen Benz were white, as were the three Mercedes that won the 1914 French Grand Prix 1–2–3. In contrast, Mercedes won the Italian Targa Florio with cars painted red in 1922 (Giulio Masetti) and 1924 (Christian Werner), blending in with local competitors. The large, supercharged 200 hp Mercedes-Benz SSKL, with which Rudolf Caracciola won the 1931 Mille Miglia, was nicknamed the White Elephant.
In 1958, Alfred Neubauer described the origin of the Silver Arrows as accidental. 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. Neubauer claimed that in spring 1934, the Mercedes-Benz team placed its new Mercedes-Benz W25 on the scrutineering scales prior to the Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring, where it allegedly weighed 751 kg (1,656 lb). Racing manager Alfred Neubauer and his driver Manfred von Brauchitsch, who both later published their memoirs, claimed they had the idea of removing all the white lead-based paint from the bodywork. The story continues that the next day, the shining silver aluminium beneath was exposed, and scrutineering was passed. According to this version, after the 350 hp (260 kW) car of Von Brauchitsch won the race, the nickname Silver Arrow was born.
However, controversy and doubt surround this story. It did not appear until 1958, and no reference to it has been found in contemporary sources. It has since been established that von Brauchitsch had raced a streamlined silver SSKL on the AVUS in 1932, which was called a Silver Arrow in live radio coverage. Also, in 1934, both Mercedes and Auto Union had entered the Avusrennen with silver cars. The next major event was the 1934 Eifelrennen, but as few cars complying with the new rules were ready, it was held for Formule Libre, meaning weight was not yet a race-critical issue. By the 1930s, modern stressed-skin aircraft fuselage construction was already using polished and unpainted aluminium panels for streamlining and to save weight. Neubauer's 1958 autobiography has been shown to include embellished stories and dubious claims, including a fabricated hoax surrounding the 1933 Tripoli Grand Prix, where he falsely accused several drivers of "fixing" the race.
A historical connection to the Neubauer story appeared in 2023 with the introduction of the Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance Formula One car. At its launch on 15 February 2023, the W14 was revealed to have a black livery, similar to its predecessors, the Mercedes F1 W11 of 2020 and the W12 of 2021. Unlike those cars, the black livery on the W14 was not primarily used to promote diversity but to save weight, after the team admitted to struggling with excess weight on its 2022 car, the W13, which had a traditional silver-painted livery. The black colour was achieved by leaving most parts as unpainted raw carbon, while some components (mainly the top of the nose and the engine cover) were painted matte black.
By 1937, the supercharged engine of a Mercedes-Benz W125 attained an output of 646 hp (475 kW), a figure not greatly exceeded in Grand Prix Racing until the early 1980s with the advent of turbocharged engines in Formula One. This output was at least matched as early as the late 1940s by conventionally fuelled Grand Prix engines like the BRM V16, despite rules restricting later engines to half the cylinder capacity.
The Silver Arrows of Mercedes and Auto Union cars reached speeds well over 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph) in 1937, and over 400 km/h (249 mph) during land speed record runs. The superiority of these vehicles in international motor racing established the term "Silver Arrow" as a legend, often by winning the first race in which they were entered. The names Rudolf Caracciola, Bernd Rosemeyer, Hermann Lang, and later Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio, are associated with the eras of these racing cars. Auto Union racing cars, developed by Ferdinand Porsche and others, were also prominent during this period, with their own successes in Grand Prix racing.
Mercedes-Benz returned to Formula One Grand Prix racing in 1994 as an engine manufacturer, initially partnering the Sauber team before switching to McLaren in 1995. After Marlboro's sponsorship of McLaren ended at the conclusion of 1996, the team began using a silver livery, and the McLaren-Mercedes cars were often referred to as "Silver Arrows."
In 2010, Mercedes-Benz became a constructor again after purchasing the Brawn GP outfit and rebranding it as Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team. Mercedes' cars have been nicknamed "Silver Arrows" by the press and the team itself. The modern cars typically race with 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 celebrating the team's 200th start in F1. The cars were painted to pay homage to the story of the white paint being peeled away, exposing the shiny silver underneath.
For the 2020 season, Mercedes decided to switch to an all-black livery, following growing worldwide support for the Black Lives Matter movement and the postponement of the season. This livery change was prompted by Lewis Hamilton, who wanted the team to show its support for the cause beyond social media posts. This led to the adoption of a new livery and a drive to improve diversity within the team. The team continued to use a black livery in 2021, reverting to a silver livery in 2022.
The 2023 car, the Mercedes W14, sported a black livery once again, this time to save weight after the team struggled with excess weight on the W13. The 2024 car, the Mercedes W15, featured a livery with the famous silver returning to complement the iconic black of recent seasons. The 2025 car, the Mercedes W16, sported a livery similar to the Mercedes W15, but with a silver engine intake instead of the usual Ineos-coloured intake featured since the Mercedes W11.
Mercedes' official debut in Formula E was in the 2019–20 season under the name Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team. Mercedes' first contender, the Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01, was unveiled in March 2019. It featured a 'teaser' black livery, resembling the HWA car already in competition. The car appeared at various events to promote Mercedes' Formula E entry, including the 89th Geneva International Motor Show. In September 2019, the team announced it had signed Danish wind power company Vestas as a principal partner. On 11 September, Mercedes revealed the definitive look of their car, now incorporating metallic silver, along with their new team principal and drivers.
In July 2020, prior to 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. The drivers also wore black racing overalls.
On 29 October 2020, Mercedes revealed the new Silver Arrow 02 car, which returned to the traditional silver livery. In 2021, the team underwent a slight rebrand, becoming Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team. The livery remained silver until the team was taken over by McLaren and returned under new ownership from the 2022–23 season.
At the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, a total of seven "Silver Arrows" were entered in the Le Mans Prototype class: three Mercedes-Benz CLR, two British-built LM-GT1 Audi R8C, and two Joest Racing LMP Audi R8R that finished third and fourth.
The term "Silver Arrow" has also influenced road car colours. Most German car companies offer a shade of silver in their catalogues conforming to Silberpfeil-Grau, or Silver Arrow Grey. However, Audi and Mercedes-Benz are not the only German car companies to paint their cars silver. Porsche has also inherited the tradition of silver arrows, while BMW continues to paint its cars in the traditional white colour.
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