According to Sacco himself, he was first inspired towards car design as an eighteen-year-old, after seeing a Raymond Loewy-styled 1950 Studebaker Commander Regal as he cycled through the streets of Tarvisio in 1951.

"[2] After studying mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin, he first sought work at the renowned Ghia and Pininfarina carrozzerie (coachbuilders), but moved to Germany when his efforts proved unsuccessful.

[1] Daimler-Benz hired him as a stylist in 1958,[3] and although he intended to stay only briefly, his marriage to Berlinerin Annemarie Ibe in 1959, and the birth of their daughter Marina the following year, made him reconsider his future.

Sacco's favourite design, because of its significance to the company's history, is the Mercedes-Benz 190 introduced in 1982, while he confessed dissatisfaction with the 1991 W140 S-Class, of which he considered the 'greenhouse' (upper body) to be "four inches [10 cm] too tall".

[3][5] Horizontal homogeneity is the common styling cue between different models in the manufacturer's range; there should be a strong visual relationship between the smallest and largest cars.