Bruno Sacco once said that "a Mercedes-Benz must always look like a Mercedes-Benz." The Italian designer made sure of that during his lengthy career at the company carrying the three-pointed star. Some of the most iconic cars launched by the German luxury brand were created during the 41 years he spent after brief stints at coachbuilders Ghia and Pininfarina.
Mercedes hired Sacco in 1958 as a second stylist to work on pre-body development before he was put in charge of the Body Design and Dimensional Concept department. Notable designs during his first years included the 600 (W100) and the 230 SL aka "Pagoda" (W113). Aside from series production cars, the talented designer was involved in the experiments with concepts that had rotary engines and gullwing doors such as the C 111 and the C 111-II.
In 1975, Sacco was named head of the Stylistics department. His first project was the W123 T-Modell, a forebearer of the E-Class wagon. It holds a special place in the Mercedes history since it was the company's first wagon.
He also penned the S-Class W126 and its sleek C126 coupe counterpart. Also during the 1970s, the G-Class design's was signed off with him at the helm. Decades after drawing these cars, the Udine-born designer was quoted saying how particularly proud he was of the 126 series: "The 126 model series in all design forms is the best thing I have done for Mercedes-Benz.
" To show his appreciation for that family of models, Sacco parked a dark blue 560 SEC in his garage w.