Rudolf Caracciola
The Silver Lightning drew heavy inspiration from the 1930s Silver Arrow race cars, most notably the Mercedes-Benz W125 driven by Rudolf Caracciola that won the 1937 Grand Prix, as well as the famous 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut. The design theme was also influenced by some sci-fi movies, such as "Star Trek", ' and '.