End of an Era: Mercedes-Benz's Legendary Design Head Is Leaving the Company

A new era will dawn at Mercedes-Benz on January 31, 2026. Gorden Wagener, the automaker’s chief design officer, is leaving the company after 28 years.  

He started his career at Mercedes in 1997, and one of the first cars he designed was the iconic Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. He designed it alongside Gordon Murray, the man behind the McLaren F1. The SLR would enter production in 2003 with a supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 under the hood, and it was just the beginning of Wegener’s long career with the automaker.  

Wagener would become the design chief in 2008, overseeing the design of the first-generation Mercedes-AMG GT, W222 S-Class, and the W176 A-Class. He would then step into the newly created role of Chief Design Officer in 2016, a title he has held since.  

Over the last decade, he’s designed the new R232 SL, launched the modern G-Class, and is responsible fordesigning the brand’s electric EQ vehicles. Not every styling choice he has made has been a hit with consumers, but designing something without knowing how people will react is part of the job.  

Some of the last cars he helped design include the new CLA, the electric GLC, and the stunning Vision Iconic, which represents a new design direction for the brand. It’s still polarizing, with a big grille, but it’s a bold step for the brand.  

Wagener most recently criticized the interiors of Mercedes’ competitors. He compared the cabin of Audi’s Concept C to a car designed in 1995, and he admitted that he wasn’t a fan of the iX3’s dash-spanning screen at the base of the windshield. Mercedes has the Hyperscreen—a 39.1-inch display that’s basically the whole dash.  

Ola Källenius, the chairman of the board of management for Mercedes-Benz Group AG, said Wegener’s “creativity and his sense for the future of automotive design have sustainably enriched Mercedes-Benz.”  

Wegener, who is 57, is leaving Mercedes at his own request.