Now that the SEMA Auto Show->ke216 is in full-swing, it's important to keep one eye on the horizon and look ahead at the next major auto show on the calendar. That just happens to be the LA Auto Show->ke211 at the end of the month and one of the most important parts of the festivities is the annual Design Challenge. Automotive design studios from around the world are invited to participate with this year's theme being billed as “Hollywood’s Hottest New Movie Car.”
Straight out of Germany is the Mercedes Silver Arrow, a car that was actually designed as an homage to 125 years of automotive innovation and design excellence. Despite its German roots, the brains behind the Silver Arrow is actually Mercedes-Benz->ke187 Advanced Design of North America, which based their work on a story featuring two futuristic crash test mannequins, Hans05 and Franz02, going up against Dr. Crash-Barrier to save their beloved futuristic race car from the latter's clutches of terror.
As far as the car itself is concerned, the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow draws inspiration from Mercedes-Benz's W125 series, particularly the Silberpfeil racecar of the late 1930’s and the Uhlenhaut SLR from the 50’s, as well as the company' Formula racing history. The long-slung, sculptured design of the car features an overall shape that speaks to the design's futuristic setting, highlighted by a diagonally configured, hub-less roller track for ‘Omni-Directional’ maneuvering.
From the minds that brought you the Mercedes Biome of a year ago, the Silver Arrow is an adventure waiting to happen.
UPDATE 12/29/11: Mercedes has released a fresh set of photos of the Silver Arrow Concept, which you can check out at the gallery below. If the initial renderings and sketches blew your mind, wait until you see the latest images of the Hollywood-inspired concept that was designed for the LA Design Challenge last month.
2011 Mercedes Silver Arrow Concept: "Silver Lightning"
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