Bruno Sacco, designer of iconic Mercedes-Benzes, dies at 90

Bruno Sacco, one of the motoring world’s best-known designers, has died aged 90.

Born in Italy with German citizenship, he was chief designer of Mercedes-Benz from 1975 until retirement in 1999 and penned some of the most memorable cars bearing the triple-pointed star including the W124 E-Class, W126 S-Class, W201 190 and the R129 SL.

His ability to harmoniously combine aesthetics and technology made Sacco one of the most influential designers in automotive history, said Mercedes.

His guiding theme was that “a Mercedes-Benz must always look like a Mercedes-Benz” and believed the model series identity was to be retained from one model generation to the next to prevent a generation from appearing old after the presentation of the following generation.

“Bruno Sacco left a lasting mark on the company with his iconic designs and his passion for aesthetics,” said Gorden Wagener, chief design officer of Mercedes-Benz Group.

Marcus Breitschwerdt, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Heritage, said Sacco defined the shape of numerous icons from Mercedes-Benz.

After spending three years at Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firm Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin, Sacco joined Daimler-Benz in 1958 and worked for the company for his entire professional life.

Sacco worked in the field of pre-body development and later as head of the body design and dimensional concept department. During this time, models such as the Mercedes-Benz 600 (W 100, 1963 to 1981) and the 230 SL “Pagoda” (W113) were created.

In 1975 Sacco became head of the stylistics department and designed what was to become one of his most enduringly elegant cars: the S-Class of model series W126 (1979-1992), which included the SEC two-door coupé (1981-1991). He was particularly proud of these cars.

“The 126 model series in all design forms is the best thing I have done for Mercedes-Benz,” said Sacco decades later in retrospect. During his retirement an elegant, dark blue 560 SEC was proudly kept in his garage.

Sacco’s philosophy of timeless elegance also appealed to a younger audience, starting with the model 190 (W201), which unlocked new buyers into the brand. The last models Sacco was responsible for before retirement were the S-Class (1998-2005) and the CL-Class luxury coupé (1999-2006).