Farewell Bruno Sacco – former Mercedes-Benz chief designer has passed away
Bruno Sacco, a former chief designer at Mercedes-Benz (1975-1999) has passed away on September 19, 2024 at the age of 90. With iconic designs such as the 124-generation E-Class, 126-generation S-Class, the W201 190, and the R129 SL, his designs always followed the guideline: “A Mercedes-Benz must always look like a Mercedes-Benz”.
Mr. Sacco joined Daimler-Benz AG in 1958 and worked for the company for his entire professional life. In 1958, he began his career as a second stylist and worked in the field of pre-body development. He was later appointed as the head of the Body Design and Dimensional Concept department.
During this time, outstanding models such as the Mercedes-Benz 600 (W 100, 1963 to 1981) and the 230 SL “Pagoda” (W 113, production time of the model series 1963 to 1971) were created. He also assumed design project management for safety exhibitions and shaped the Wankel engine experimental vehicles C 111 (1969) and C 111-II (1970). His involvement created widely used vehicles such as the mid-range model series 123 (1976 to 1986).
With his appointment as Oberingenieur (chief engineer) in 1975, Sacco became head of the Stylistics department as Friedrich Geiger’s successor. The first vehicle he was responsible for was the station wagon of model series 123, which was presented in 1977 as the brand’s first station wagon.
During this time, he characterized the form of the elegant S-Class of model series 126 (1979 to 1992) and the associated Coupé (1981 to 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. No wonder that during his retirement an elegant, dark blue 560 SEC was proudly kept in his double garage.
Sacco described himself as an aesthete, he placed value on expression and symbol strength. One of his claims: In the case of a Mercedes-Benz automobile, the model series identity is to be retained from one model generation to the next in order to prevent a generation from appearing old after the presentation of the following generation.
In addition, every Mercedes-Benz should be recognizable as a representative of this brand all over the world. A striking detail introduced by Sacco 1979 were the side protective strips in the design of the front bumper of the 126 series S-Class. This design element would be found in the following years in the innovative compact class (W 201, 1982 to 1993), model series 124 (1984 to 1997), model series 140 S-Class (1991 to 1998) and model series R 129 SL (1989 to 2001).
In 1993 Sacco became a member of the group of directors of the company. In this capacity, the design of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles fell within his area of responsibility. Sacco’s signature style became particularly evident during the product offensive in the mid-1990s, when the A-Class (model series 168, 1997 to 2005), M-Class (model series 163, 1997 to 2004), SLK (R 170), CLK (model series 208, 1997 to 2003), and V-Class (W 638, 1996 to 2005) significantly expanded the model range of the automobile manufacturer. The last models Bruno Sacco was responsible for before retirement were the 220 model series S-Class (1998 to 2005) and the CL-Class luxury class coupe of model series C 215 (1999 to 2006).
Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH CEO, Marcus Breitschwerdt said, “Mercedes-Benz will always remember this extraordinary stylist and yet humble person. Bruno Sacco has defined the shape of numerous icons from Mercedes-Benz. Many of them are still seen today in everyday road traffic, or they fascinate as classics of the brand.”
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