If you think car designers are just quiet artists in black suits drawing lines in the basement, you're wrong. At least not in the case of Gorden Wagener. He was a rock star. The man who took Mercedes' hat off and put on its sunglasses. But on January 31, 2026, that era is coming to an end. After 28 years and countless scratches on the clay (and probably on the egos of his competitors), Gorden Wagener is leaving Stuttgart.
Departure of the chief designer (Chief Design Officer) For a brand like Mercedes-Benz, it's more than just personnel news. It's a tectonic shift. Gordon Wagener he wasn't just someone who said, "Put that light a little further to the left." He was a style dictator, a guardian of the star, and the man who defined the visual language of luxury for the last two decades. And yes, he was the boss of our Slovenian design ace Robert Lešnik. But more on who was actually holding the pencil a little later.
From Monster to Soap: A Legacy of Contrasts
Wagener's career reads like the ultimate automotive thriller. He began in 1997, when phones were bricks and Mercedes looked like thin cars. His first big hit? Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
We need to pause here for a moment. The SLR is not a car. The SLR is an event. Wagener designed it together with Gordon Murray (father of McLaren F1). The result? A long nose that ends in another time zone, and side exhausts that screamed “I don’t care about your rules”.
Under the hood roared a supercharged 5.4-liter V8, producing 460 kW (617 hp) and 780 Nm (575 lb-ft) of torque. It shot to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.8 seconds, and had a top speed of 334 km/h (207 mph). These are figures that still make the spines stand erect today, in the age of sterile electric acceleration. This was the Wagener at its most raw.
The “Sensual Purity” Revolution
He took the helm in 2008 and became Chief Design Officer (CDO) in 2016. His vision? A philosophy called Sensual Purity. A reduction in edges, an emphasis on surfaces. If you look at the transition from the sharp W221 S-Class to the flowing, almost erotic W222 S-Class, you see Wagener's (and Lešnik's) signature. The W222 is probably the most beautiful sedan of the modern era. Period.
But every coin has two sides. In recent years, Wagener has overseen the transition to an electric EQ line. And this is where opinions fly like sparks in a broken alternator. Models like the EQS and EQE are aerodynamic marvels with incredibly low drag coefficients, but visually they are… let’s call them “aerodynamic soaps.” Wagener claimed that this was the future. Internet commentators claimed that it looked like a computer mouse.
“Designing something without knowing how people will react is part of the job. If you don't risk polarization, you're boring.”
The hierarchy of aesthetics: Where is Robert Lešnik?
For Slovenian readers, this is a key question. We often read that “Lešnik drew Mercedes”. Is this true? Absolutely. But the hierarchy is clear. Gorden Wagener was the CDO (Chief Design Officer) of the entire group – he determined the strategy, philosophy and “vibe” of the brand, including Maybach and AMG. He was the director of the film.
Robert Lešnik is the Head of Exterior Design. He is the main actor and director of photography. Lešnik is the one who translates Wagener's philosophy into metal. When you see the line on the new C-Class or the flanks of the S-Class, you are looking at Lešnik's hand, guided by Wagener's vision. They were a tandem – Wagener as a visionary and Lešnik as an executor who understands how light falls on metal. Wagener's departure will certainly bring changes to Lešnik's everyday life. Will he get more freedom? Or a new boss with a different vision?
The final blow and bold concepts
Before Wagener cleans up his office (where there's probably an Andy Warhol hanging), he leaves us with a few more gifts. The new CLA, the electric GLC, and the Vision Iconic concept. The latter polarized the public with its huge grille, but Wagener didn't care.
He was also known for not mincing his words. He recently compared the interiors of Audi concepts to cars from 1995, and said of BMW’s iX3 that he didn’t like the dashboard display at all. Ironically, given that Mercedes has introduced the Hyperscreen below it – a 141-centimeter (56-inch) glass strip that stretches across the entire dashboard. But at least Mercedes makes it look like part of a spaceship, not a forgotten tablet.
Conclusion: The departure of a giant
Ola Källenius, the CEO, said that Wagener “has sustainably enriched Mercedes-Benz.” And he’s right. Under Wagener, Mercedes has shaken off its image as a “retirement car” and become a brand driven by rappers, CEOs, and F1 drivers.
My personal opinion? We will miss Gorden Wagener. Even if you don't like his electric "jellybean" cars, you can't deny his courage. In a world where cars are becoming more and more similar, he stuck to his vision, no matter how controversial it was. He made Mercedes cool. And for that, we can forgive him the oversized grille on the Vision Iconic.
What's next? January 31, 2026 will be the day, when a lot will change in Stuttgart. Until then… thanks for the SLR, Gorden. That was art.
