Bruno Sacco once said that “a Mercedes-Benz should always look like a Mercedes-Benz.” The Italian designer made sure of this during his long career within the company with the three-pointed star. Some of the most iconic cars launched by the German luxury brand were created during his 41 years after brief stints with coachbuilders Ghia and Pininfarina.
Mercedes hired Sacco in 1958 as a second stylist to work on pre-body development before he was made head of the Body Design and Dimensional Concept department. Notable models from its early years included the 600 (W100) and the 230 SL aka “Pagoda” (W113). In addition to production cars, the talented designer participated in testing concepts with rotary engines and gullwing doors such as the C 111 and C 111-II.
In 1975, Sacco was appointed head of the stylistics department. Its first project was the W123 T-Modell, an ancestor of the E-Class wagon. It occupies a special place in Mercedes history since it was the company’s first station wagon. He also penned the W126 S-Class and its elegant C126 coupe counterpart. Also during the 1970s, the G-Class design was done with him at the helm.
Decades after designing these cars, the Udine-born designer reportedly said how particularly proud he was of the 126 series: “The 126 model series, in all its forms, is the best thing I have done for Mercedes -Benz. » To show his appreciation for this model family, Sacco parked a dark blue 560 SEC in his garage when he retired.
Sacco’s work also helped Mercedes attract younger customers with the launch of the 190 series (W201), the precursor to the C-Class. The same goes for his later work when launching the A-Class in 1997. His projects included everything from the original M-Class luxury SUV to the V-Class minivan. Before retiring on March 31, 1999, the last cars he designed were the W220 S-Class and the Class CL C215 mechanically associated.
Some of these cars were produced in an era of overly sophisticated vehicles, earning Mercedes a reputation for being “built like a tank.” Sacco’s designs are timeless, especially those that appeared during the first decades of his long career at Mercedes. Several years after retiring, the talented automobile designer said:
“Mercedes has been my life and I defend this era one hundred percent.”
On September 19, Bruno Sacco died in Sindelfingen, Germany at the age of 90.
