Bruno Sacco, the author behind Mercedes-Benz's classic lines, dies

“A Mercedes-Benz must always look like a Mercedes-Benz.” This was one of the phrases most often repeated by Bruno Sacco, the head of Design for the star brand, who, despite hanging up his pencil in 1999, left an indelible influence on automotive history. On September 19th, he passed away at the age of 90.

The Italian designer, who worked at Mercedes-Benz since 1957, was responsible for iconic models whose lines remain recognizable in current production models. A clear example is the G-Class, which was born as the Geländewagen in 1979 and is now manufactured in almost identical silhouette with electric propulsion.

“Bruno Sacco left a lasting mark on the company thanks to his iconic designs and passion for aesthetics,” said Gorden Wagener, the current head of Design at Mercedes-Benz Group. “We have lost an extraordinary personality and an impressive artist.”

One of Sacco's maxims when designing vehicles was to seek the evolution of designs and take little risk so that they remain attractive within 30 years. Today, many models of the brand maintain elements similar to those they had in previous generations.

The designer's influence includes work on almost every major model of the brand between the sixties and eighties, such as the W100 or 600, which was in production for almost 20 years. Its sober appearance with advanced and reliable technology won it the favor of politicians and celebrities like John Lennon, George Harrison, or Elvis Presley.

However, the design he felt most proud of was the compact W201 or Mercedes-Benz 190. This was the first time the brand entered the small sedan market and used design elements from the S-Class. When the manufacturer launched a high-performance version with a modified Cosworth 2.3-liter engine, it became an instant classic.

Since 1975, Sacco became the head of Design for the brand. Since then, Mercedes entered many segments that it would dominate, such as A-Class, V-Class –which is still produced today at the Vitoria plant in Spain– SLK, CLK or E-Class.

“Mercedes-Benz will always remember this extraordinary designer,” said Heritage, president of the brand's historic division. “Sacco defined the shape of numerous icons that bore the star and many of them can still be seen driving on the streets.”

Before retiring, Sacco served on the company's board of directors and created the Sindelfingen design center in Germany. He entered the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2006.