2012 CDN – Opel/Vauxhall Interactive Competition shortlist announced

With a hugely impressive 263 entries in total, the judges of the 2012 Car Design News – Opel/Vauxhall Interactive Competition had an unenviable task ahead of them when they gathered at the firm's head quarters in Russelsheim, Germany on Monday 21 May.

Their challenge was to shortlist a number of students to progress to the next stage of the competition. The winner will be announced at the 2012 Paris motorshow. The shortlisted students will be invited to develop their designs over the coming months, guided by the expert eye of a designer from Opel/Vauxhall. The ultimate prize? A paid internship at the firm's design studio in Russelsheim, Germany.

It took a long afternoon of deliberation for the judges to agree on their selection. Eventually, four exterior proposals and six interior designs were shortlisted. The successful students have already received an e-mail from Car Design News and we look forward to seeing them continuing to develop their designs in the next stage. In the exterior category, the online names of those shortlisted are: Vlad, Matic_Vihtelic, Doog and B8. Much to the judging panel's surprise, the interior entries proved stronger than the exteriors this year. Six entries were selected to go forward: Vlad, Matic_Vihtelic, B8, Ahmad Moslemifar, AliKerkeni and Mateusz Wowk.

Exterior shortlist
Vlad's exterior work "picked up a new take on the Boomerang," said Richard Shaw, Opel/Vauxhall's Chief Designer of Advanced Design. "Understands exactly what the form language stands for – it's the two bookends in one car" agreed Freidhelm Engler, Director Opel/Vauxhall Advanced Design. "Nice sketches and technique, but in side profile it's a little push-me-pull-you," commented Mark Adams, Vice President Opel/Vauxhall Design. It represented a view that the judges have of the entire shortlist – no design yet feels complete or fully developed. They will be able to do so in the next, final stage of the competition.

Matic_Vihtelic approach intrigued the judges. "I like the use of feathers in the same way birds do to glide them through the air," said Malcolm Ward, Director Opel/Vauxhall Exterior Design. Engler added there was "a consistent story with great colouration and image selection on the boards." The judges were in agreement that it was the promise of Doog's sketches, rather than the final renders that captivated them: "second board, the top side view on the left hand side – you could make a really nice car from that sketch. And it feels like Rak_e applied to a compact car," commented Adams. "But, like many of the others, he's worried too much about doing the full nuts-and-bolts rendering. We need to see more of the stuff that just captures the feeling of the car."

It was a similar story with B8. "The guy with the amazing visualization," as Liz Wetzel, Director of Opel/Vauxhall Interior Design neatly summed up. His visual presentation blew all the judges away. But Mark Adams wanted to know "what sketch he had in his hand before he started the 3D – it seems he's more comfortable in 3D than sketching." Although he added, "that's not necessarily a bad thing".

The judges – and Adams in particular – were keen to constructively feed back to each shortlisted entrant and the wider student body as a whole. "We really want the students to hear what we think and to be able to have a two-way dialogue with them and really help them to develop not only their designs here, but their skills overall," said Adams.

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By Joe Simpson