I do remember encountering some documents describing some of the internal architecture, so I know that they are out there. I just can't remember where they were...
One day I actually sat down and read the entire Git User's Manual. Turned out to be a good idea -- the manual is very helpful, explains a lot, and is quite clear and provides useful examples.
The US$9 100+ page PDF book from PeepCode called Git Internals is fantastic. It's well written, uses great, clear visuals and is also a quick read. I absorbed as much free online material as I could but this book put me over the top.
Said Scott now maintains http://git-scm.com/, which includes the Git community book, which is more of a usage tutorial than a technical description, but does include both a nice conceptual overview of the git data model in the introductory chapter and a detailed one in its closing chapter.
Assume we are living in a pre git era. And you want to write a version control system which
is fast and better than the existing vcs. All you need is a great idea. At that moment of time the below article would be of much help.