Legendary Mercedes-Benz Designer Bruno Sako Passes On At Age 91

Bruno Sacco (Bruno Sako), one of the most popular Italian car designers of all time, whose name is inextricably linked to Mercedes, died at the age of 91.

Born in Udine in 1933, he joined the Mercedes design centre in 1958, after working at Ghia and Pininfarina. He remained in Stuttgart until his retirement in 1999, where he was head of design at Mercedes from 1975, giving life to some of the company’s most famous models.

Among Sako’s early works, perhaps the most important concerns the Mercedes SL “Pagoda” 113 from the early 1960s, as well as the Mercedes 600.

A major turning point came in 1975 with the appointment of Sako as the head of Mercedes design, a role that Bruno would perform until 1999. Among the most important works, we cannot fail to mention first of all the Mercedes G-class, a cult off-road vehicle born in 1979. However, the Mercedes 190 from 1982 (produced in almost 1.9 million units), made Saka proudest. The “Baby Mercedes” later became the C-Class. There is also a Mercedes A-class from 1997, with front-wheel drive and a difficult start due to the failure of the los test.

The Mercedes SLK and CLK were also born under Bruno’s management, as well as the Mercedes E-Class from 1996 (series W 210).

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