 The design as a whole tried to create technology that could be built in the 1940s , though with the added Cube technology in Hydra 's case . Abandoned Nazi projects or actual vehicles from the period were used as inspiration . Daniel Simon , who was previously responsible for many vehicle designs in TRON : Legacy , was appointed Lead Vehicle Designer . Director Johnston cited Simon 's book Cosmic Motors as a reason to trust his influence , saying " he 's sort of the guy I wanted to be when I was designing stuff for Star Wars " . The Red Skull 's car , for instance , was based on two Mercedes @-@ Benz vehicles from the 1930s , the 540K and the G4 . 
