(Image : Mercedes-Benz)
The spiritual father and designer of many Mercedes-Benz models died on September 19 at the age of 90. Sacco worked for the German automaker from 1958 to 1999.
The Italian was born in 1933 in the city of Udine. He was interested in cars from a young age and after seeing a Raymond Loewy-style 1950 Studebaker Commander Regal, Sacco decided he also wanted to do something with automobile design.
Early career of Bruno Sacco
After earning his mechanical engineering degree at the Technical University of Turin, Sacco applied for a job with coachbuilders Ghia and Pininfarina. There he was rejected, after which he moved to Germany. Here he was hired by Daimler-Benz as a stylist in 1958 to work on various body concepts. He then began working as a designer at Mercedes-Benz.
Mercedes-Benz C111 (Photo : Mercedes-Benz)
After his marriage to the German Annemarie Ibe and the birth of his daughter in 1959, he continued to work at Mercedes-Benz. For example, he designed the C111 in 1969. Bruno Sacco rose through the ranks within the company and was appointed chief engineer in 1974. From that time until his retirement in 1999, he was mainly responsible for the design of all cars, vans and trucks. .
Designer pour Mercedes-Benz
Sacco first had to get used to the culture within Mercedes-Benz. As a youth, he was under the impression that there were no written laws about how a car should be designed. Co-founder Gottlieb Daimler convinced him otherwise. Over the years, Sacco has used the terms “horizontal homogeneity” and “vertical affinity” for Mercedes-Benz designs. By this he meant that there should still be a strong visual relationship between the larger and smaller cars, but that new models don’t necessarily have to use everything old. For example, he said: “A Mercedes-Benz should always look like a Mercedes-Benz.”
The most famous Mercedes models
From 1974 to 1999, Sacco designed many successful Mercedes-Benz models. He designed three successive generations of S-Class (W126, W140 and W220). He also designed several SL, C, E and M classes. He also helped shape the Mercedes CLK and SLK sports cars. Sacco also made a significant contribution to the best-selling Mercedes of all time: the Mercedes W123.
La Classe S W126 (Image : Mercedes-Benz)
His favorite model was the Mercedes-Benz W201 of the 190 series, due to the great importance that this series had for the brand. Additionally, the 190 series is still very popular today. Sacco died at his home in Sindelfingen. It was here that he also began his 25-year career as chief engineer in 1974.
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