Bruno Sacco passed away at 90 years old.

A piece of post-war automotive history is gone with the death of Bruno Sacco, the designer who first guided and then directed the stylistic courses of Mercedes-Benz. Originally from Friuli, he joined the three-pointed star brand in 1958 and took over the design center in 1975. He would have turned 91 next November. His hands worked on true icons like the SL series, better known as the “Pagoda,” and the “big one” 600, as well as revolutionary prototypes like the C111. He once said, “I don’t want to design works of art, but successful cars, even in sales.” As head of Mercedes-Benz design from 1975 to 1999, Bruno Sacco had the merit of simplifying and lightening the style of the German brand without altering its canon, while giving what later became known as the “family feeling”—a uniform character among the various models to make the brand's visual identity immediately recognizable. The 1982 Mercedes 190 is one of the models that best represents his nature as an innovator respectful of traditions, rewarded by record commercial success, attracting customers who had never owned a Mercedes-Benz. He repeated this feat with the first generation of the A-Class, equally capable of attracting new types of customers, such as a large female audience. Among the many models credited to his authorship, it's impossible not to mention intergenerational masterpieces like the E-Class (W124), S-Class (W126), or the timeless G-Class.