At the end of January 2026, Mercedes-Benz closes a design chapter: chief designer Gorden Wagener is leaving, and with him goes the era when the brand stepped beyond austere status and leaned into emotion. Trade media report his tenure ends on January 31, and name Bastian Baudy from Mercedes-AMG as his successor.

The most recognizable cars of that period are easy to recall because they reshaped the brand’s visual language, reports 32CARS.RU. Wagener contributed to the SLR McLaren, where retro cues met supercar sculpture; then came a format revolution with the CLS, turning the sedan into a fashionable four-door coupé. The SLS AMG with its gullwing doors became a symbol of that boldness, and the AMG GT and S-Class Coupé cemented the direction, making Mercedes look distinctly more upmarket even when the hardware remained mainstream.

It wasn’t flawless: early EQ electric models drew criticism for being overly streamlined, and interiors for an overload of screens. Yet overall, design became one of the reasons interest in Mercedes stayed strong over the past 15 years, including on the used market. The real achievement was less about individual lines and more about pushing the brand to take risks instead of drawing by habit.