Most Mercedes-Benz racing cars— and some special and flagship vehicles— are clad in the company's recognizable silver shade, but that color was originally an off-the-cuff improvisation. In 1934, at the Nürburgring, Mercedes-Benz's red, aluminum-coated W 25 race car had to be under 750 kg at the time of the race, but it had to be one-kilogram overweight. The team manager managed to get the paint off the surface, resulting in a shimmering silver racer who ended up winning the race— and cementing an archetypal hue.