..... but that Friedrich Geiger designed the vehicle (Slide 3). Now that's a name I hadn't heard yet...
Peter,
the main reason is that he was a somewhat shy person who avoided the limelight but enjoyed it when team efforts, as Hans mentioned, succeeded.
Nevertheless he should have received every conceivable design award out there. You may not have heard of Geiger but I am sure you have heard of the pre-war 500K special roadster. Well, he designed that as a 27-year old and then became really famous for his styling of the 300SL Gullwing.
His grill design with the three-pointed star in the center has been the common style element for all SL cars since his 300SL came out.
Attached is his biography that Daimler released last year,
and a photo of the 500K that I shot in the Mercedes museum. The b&w is a press release photo which shows the car's fluid lines very well.