Category: Silberpfeile

The really first Silberpfeil

In January last year Jay Leno released a very interesting episode in his “Jay Leno’s Garage”. I talked about this car in the second part of my Silver Arrows series last month. This is the replica of the original 1932 Silberpfeil that Mercedes Benz built in 2019, and Jay Leno made a fantastic 28 minutes video about it. In this video was the first time I heard Mercedes admit that it wasn’t Alfred Neubauer who originally coined the term.

Historical origins aside, as usual, Leno produced a fantastic video that’s really worth the watch.

Silver Arrows – Part III: When is a silver car a Silberpfeil?

And finally we arrive at the last part of the series. After explaining what is a Silberpfeil and how they came to be called that, now it’s time to define which cars are Silver Arrows. Even though Mercedes-Benz uses the term very broadly, not every silver car is a Silberpfeil. Historically speaking you can count them on your fingers. Even if you add the variations (like hill climbers and record cars), the actual number is very low. How low? Click below.

Part III: When is a silver car a Silberpfeil?

Silver Arrows – Part II: Where does the name come from?

Last week I briefly explained what are the Silver Arrows. Of course you can write a whole book on the subject but I think my text can give at least an idea about what were these silver cars. For me at least, another very interesting side to these cars is the name. Why are they called Silver Arrows? I find the story behind their name quite entertaining. Through the link below you can have a glimpse of how it came to be.

Part II: Where does the name come from?

Silver Arrows – Part I: What are the Silberpfeile?

My Silver Arrows are a BIG part of my collection, and therefore I’m really proud of them. Throughout my reviews I’ve written a lot about them, and I love all the history behind the machines and the men. A few days ago, thinking about my reviews (or lack of 😥) I reckoned it would be interesting to do a write-up on the history of the cars. Basically, about what they are, why are they called Silver Arrows and what cars are actual Silver Arrows. So with all-new photographs I compiled everything in a three-part series.

I’m still working on the pics and even polishing-up the text, but I believe I’ll publish the next parts in a couple of weeks.

Here is Part I: What are the Silberpfeile?

MOD – 1937 Auto Union Typ C Stromlinienwagen (record car)

Shortly after I published the Typ C Stromlinienwagen (record car) review, I was reading a bit more on Silberpfeile LSR cars. By chance I watched again the footage of Rosemeyer’s 1937 record attempt, and something caught my eye. I missed this when I first wrote the review, but you can clearly see that for the record run his Typ C carried a swastika.

To make it more historically accurate, I had to address that. So, decal time! If you want to see how it looks now, just go to the Stromlinienwagen’s page.