Paul Bracq

Who is Paul Bracq?

Paul Bracq is an automotive designer noted for his work at Citroën, Peugeot, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.

Bracq's career began in the design studio of Philippe Charbonneaux, where he served as Charbonneaux' assistant in 1953 and 1954. During this period, the studio produced the designs for the French Presidential limousine built by Citroën, a one-off Pegaso coupe, and other automotive designs.

Bracq served his mandatory military service from late 1954 through 1957. Subsequently he worked for Daimler-Benz, heading the design studio in Sindelfingen, a post he would hold for ten years. Bracq styled Mercedes the 600, 230SL/250SL/280SL coupé, the 220S coupé, the 250 and 220D, the W108 and W114 coupe series, and its stablemate the W115 – all of the '60s and '70s.

Upon his return to France in 1967, Bracq worked for Brissonau and Lotz, where he was responsible for the design of the TGV high-speed passenger train. During this time, Bracq was also responsible for prototypes of a sports car based on the BMW 1600Ti and a coupé based on the Simca 1100.

In 1970, Bracq was appointed design director of BMW, where he was responsible for the top-of-the-line 7-Series.