Legendary Mercedes Designer Bruno Sacco Passed Away

After a remarkable 40-year career, legendary Mercedes-Benz designer Bruno Sacco passed away at the age of 90, inspiring an outpouring of gratitude for his significant contribution to the German automaker and to the field of automotive design in general.

Loved by hordes of admirers, Sacco is regarded as one of the world's greatest auto designers and the best Mercedes-Benz ever. He is famously quoted as saying, "A Mercedes-Benz should look like a Mercedes-Benz".
Sacco was first employed by Mercedes in 1958 as a second stylist to assist with pre-body development. Later, he was promoted to head the Body Design and Dimensional Concept division. During his early years, two notable designs were the 600 (W100) and the 230 SL, also known as the "Pagoda" (W113). The gifted designer experimented with ideas like the C 111 and the C 111-II, which had gullwing doors and rotary engines, in addition to series production cars.

Sacco integrated his vision of the ideal Mercedes over his forty years with the automaker, including taking over from Geiger as chief of design in 1975. He also introduced the idea that "the successor was never allowed to make the predecessor look really old."

W126 S-Class, which Sacco was most proud of, is a prime example of these concepts and was produced from 1979 to 1992.

Decades after retiring, Sacco was still driving a dark blue 560 SEC (C126) coupe. "The 126 model series in all design forms is the best thing I have done for Mercedes-Benz," Sacco was quoted as saying in a statement from the car maker. Later in his Merc career, he presented the W201, which was intended for a younger market and would eventually be referred to as the C-Class. A-Class, M-Class, CLK, SLK, and even V-Class were all under Sacco's supervision in the 1990s. He worked on the S220 and CL as his final vehicles before retiring.
‘Bruno Sacco left a lasting mark on the company with his iconic designs and his passion for aesthetics,’ Gorden Wagener, current chief design officer of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, says. ‘We have lost an outstanding personality and an impressive aesthete. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family and friends.