Karl Wilfert (1 July 1907, Vienna – 8 March 1976) was chief of car body development at

Daimler Benz AG The Mercedes-Benz Group Aktiengesellschaft, AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It ...

between 1959 and 1976. When he died he was recently, and reluctantly, retired. “I still have so many ideas…” He was born in Vienna, the son of an architect, and one of a creative generation of Austrian engineers to whom the early development of the European auto industry was much indebted. He started out as a development engineer with

Steyr Steyr (; Central Bavarian: ''Steia'') is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd l ...

in 1926, moving in 1929 to work with the Mercedes-Benz Vienna branch, from where he relocated to the Mercedes Sindelfingen plant: here, from 1933, he headed up the Research department. In 1955 he switched to the design department, becoming director for car body development in 1959 at a time when the company was embarking on a period of intensive research into improving secondary safety – protecting the occupants of cars involved in accidents. His influence was especially evident in the designs of the SL sportcars, first the 300SL Gullwing and more recently the pagoda topped 230 SL.

Sources and further reading

1907 births 1976 deaths Engineers from Vienna People in the automobile industry Mercedes-Benz Group people {{Austria-business-bio-stub