After the launch of the E30, BMW chairman Herbert Quandt set a challenge for the design team to better the Mercedes-Benz W126, the benchmark in European luxury vehicles at the time. The W126 was a highly conservative design, penned by Bruno Sacco, but Luthe took a far more radical approach. A sleek, streamlined, wedge-shaped body, in some ways reminiscent of the trend-setting Ro 80, and unconventional L-shaped taillights, the new E32 was very much the antithesis of the W126. In spite of Luthe's concerns, the BMW board approved the design with enthusiasm.