Paul Bracq

Paul Bracq (born December 13, 1933, Bordeaux, France) 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 the Mercedes 600, 230SL/250SL/280SL roadster, 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 Brissonneau and Lotz, where he worked on the design of the TGV high-speed passenger train which was led by Jacques Cooper. 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. His 1973 "Turbo" concept car won "Concept Car of the Year" by the Revue Automobile Suisse that year; the car repeated the feat in 1992 in the Bagatelle Concours d'Elegance.

His work with Peugeot beginning in 1974 included personal transportation for the Pope and the interiors of the Peugeot 604 and the Peugeot 505.

Bracq is also active as a judge in many automotive concours, including the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.