Bruno Sacco, who designed the car you think of when you think of a Mercedes, has died

• Bruno Sacco, who defined what we think of when we think of a modern Mercedes, has died.

• Sacco oversaw the best-selling models in the brand’s history, from the 190 to the SL roadster and all cars, trucks and SUVs made between 1975 and 1999 and beyond.

• He wanted his designs to showcase the quality and technological superiority of each vehicle.

When you think of a modern Mercedes, you probably think of a car written under the direction of Bruno Sacco.

Born in Italy in 1933, Sacco brought a very subtle Italian flair to the very conservative house of Mercedes at a time when the name was becoming a major consumer force in the global marketplace.

Sacco died on September 19 at the age of 90.

‘You can recognize a good design,’ he once said, ‘by the absence of schnick schnack.’

None of his cars had schnick schnack.

Sacco ruled the design department at a time when Mercedes cars were the best in the world, and he wanted his designs to reflect that.

For the first fifteen years of his reign, there was no Lexus (which you could say copied Sacco’s creations, at least at first), no Acura, no Infiniti, and other competitors could not match the strengths they own now. least in terms of design.

He oversaw the creation of every Mercedes car, truck, bus and SUV for a quarter of a century. These included cars you may have owned and enjoyed, such as the 190, which at the time was the best-selling car Mercedes had ever produced. But he also oversaw production of the SL convertible, three generations of S-Class, the CLK and SLK sports cars, and the best-selling M-Class SUV, the latter a vehicle that brought luxury to the once largely truck-based car . SUV class.

“I was fortunate to be able to take over a relatively young team of designers, and I felt that my employees had the drive to create something that they had not previously been free to do. We have tried to stay true to the company’s tradition, as with the W126. That was the first vehicle I was responsible for. We tried to create something new, but that didn’t completely erase the past. This was the birth of a philosophy, which was later called the Mercedes Design Philosophy.”

Do you have a Sacco Mercedes? Let us know below.