My Journal compatriot Derek Shiekhi mentioned earlier this week that someone in the building had driven a new-to-us white R129 SL to the office. Not being great on the internal names of late-model cars, I asked, “Mercedes?”
“Yep! One of Bruno Sacco’s masterpieces.”
“Serious question: Just because you like it, does that make it a masterpiece?”
“Masterpiece” is a word I’ve seen thrown around plenty in online discussions of music, art, design, you name it. Seeing the word used to describe The Ramones’ “Rocket to Russia” makes me roll my eyes. Is it a seminal LP? Sure! Is it within the same graces of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”? Nope! I don’t want to think that everything I enjoy is great or perfect—a masterpiece, if you will—because it’s not, but it appears online inhabitants have the opposite habit.
So, now I’ve been confronted with the idea that the 1990-2002 R129 Mercedes-Benz SL is a masterpiece. I reckon I should look up the definition before I judge. According to Merriam-Webster, a masterpiece is “a work done with extraordinary skill” or “a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement.” Though the latter sounds subjective to my ears, what is not subjective is that “masterpiece” originates from a piece of work presented to a medieval guild as evidence of qualifications for the rank of master. In that sense, design leaders like Harley Earl or Virgil Exner would be considered masters. What about Bruno Sacco?
Apparently, he had a lengthy career at Mercedes-Benz, first hired in 1958 and then serving as the head of styling from 1975 until 1999. With those creds, he qualifies as a master. His favorite design? Nothing fancy—just the W201 190 sedan that was called the “Baby Benz” by the press when introduced, and the car to which the current C-Class (W206) can trace its lineage. From a historical standpoint within the brand, the W201 could be considered a masterpiece because there were so many facets to its creation that converged: suspension, roll bars, anti-dive and anti-squat geometry, airbags, ABS, seat belt pretensioners, and lightweight steel that could help the car withstand an offset crash at 35 mph while maintaining reasonable passenger protection.
Looking at the W201’s design and styling, I don’t think anyone would consider it a masterpiece unless they used the original definition; however, when it comes to packaging and content, as coming from a master designer, it most certainly is. Laypeople like you and me probably don’t consider anything beyond design and styling, so context may have a place here. The same holds true for the R129—the design comes off as a bit heavy and tank-like (which has its good points) but doesn’t seem to follow the lineage of the original W198 (aka 300 SL “Gullwing”), which could create a bias from an observer. But, like the W201, the R129 too was the complete package, with different elements converging to create the most modern of vehicles.
So, masterpiece or not? It may depend on context or subjectivity, or maybe I’m just full of it.