Bruno Sacco

When Bruno Sacco walked through the doors on his first day at Mercedes-Benz on 13 January 1958, it is highly unlikely that his Daimler-Benz colleagues could ever imagine that this nervous young man would not only revolutionize design but would change the way design and innovation connected with brand tradition forever.

Bruno Sacco is one of the most influential automotive designers of the late twentieth century; many models launched during his era now characterize the Mercedes-Benz brand. When Nik Greene asked Bruno Sacco to assist with this book, he replied humbly "No-one designs a car alone, and more to the point, I never, for one minute, wanted to. From the moment I became Head of Design, I put down my pens and became a manager of minds."

With over 330 photographs and illustrations, this book includes an overview of the early days of functional vehicle design and the influence of safety on design evolution. The protagonists of Daimler-Benz design from Hermann Ahrens to Paul Bracq are covered. Design philosophy and innovation under Bruno Sacco is discussed along with the Sacco-designed cars and, finally, the Bruno Sacco legacy.
About the Author:

Nik Greene was born in St Albans in 1964, before his family moved to Norfolk for a farming life. Having always had an interest in cars he got into the classic car scene soon after buying his first Jaguar at the age of 20. Joining the Jaguar Drivers' club led him to take his first steps into writing; initially writing newsletter articles, and then as a Jaguar S-Type model representative, which involved writing monthly articles. This became more serious when contacted by Paul Skilleter, the eminent Jaguar historian, to write a few articles for his new magazine Jaguar Quarterly. This opened the door to writing regular copy with other classic car magazines. Not satisfied just 'owning' a classic car, Nik Greene always threw himself deeply into the history and design of the vehicles he has owned and restored, which has led to a good knowledge base. He often says: "There is no better way of knowing your car than by taking it apart, whether physically or historically." Nik Greene's first Mercedes was a 123 model 280TE, and being a lover of quality and precision design and engineering his love for the marque grew, encompassing the robust G-Wagen then the S-Class 126. After moving to France in 2004, he went on to buy and restore many old Citroens and Renaults, but never moved completely away from his love of the Mercedes Marque. He still owns his beloved G-Wagen after nearly 20 years and having previously owned four 126s, he has settled on a very rare 126 560SE, which remains pampered in his collection.