Design Contest: 2004 Motor Trend International Design Contest winners announced

Tue, 02 Nov 2004

Nov 2, 2004 - The winners of the 2004 Motor Trend International Design Contest were announced during Media Day at the California International Auto Show (CIAS) held in Anaheim. Top honors were awarded to Guilherme Albuquerque Knop (26) from Parana, Brazil. Guilherme received the award for best of show and a cash prize of $2,500 for his design of an Armani/ Transport. This prestigious award is bestowed annually to the designer who best captures the contest theme.

"This year's entries really stepped it up a notch creating some of the most cutting-edge designs we've seen," said Matt Stone, executive editor of Motor Trend."

The sixth-annual Motor Trend/CIAS International Design Contest received over 2,500 registrations from more than 70 countries and challenged amateur, student and professional designers to design a car, truck or SUV conceived, built and brought to market by a company that is not currently an automotive producer. With companies around the world maximizing brand recognition to set themselves apart from their competitors, such as McDonalds' Arches and Nike's Swoosh, this year's 'Brand It Your Way' theme challenged contestants to bring the attributes and characteristics of their chosen brand to life by conceptualizing a vehicle that clearly exemplified the traits of the product.

Each design submission was represented in a minimum of three different perspectives, with at least one being a rendering of the passenger compartment that identified the instrumentation and driver controls. Entries also included a brief synopsis that explained how the design was conceptualized, as well as the car's technical and general specifications.

"In such a product-driven world, this year's theme hit home with the competitors, allowing them to leave their mark and truly ?Brand It their Way'," said Stone. "The contest creates a unique opportunity for designers of all different skill sets to get their visions in front of the most distinguished designers in the automotive sector."

First place in the Design Professional category was awarded to Steve Cook (39) from Portland, Oregon for his design of the Victoronix Bernia. Steve is currently a senior designer with Pinnacle Exhibits, Displayworks and Exhibit Group. Mauricio Bedolla Gasca (29) was awarded top honors in the Design Student category for his design of the Urban Victory Vehicle. Mauricio is currently enrolled in the design master program at Ume? Institute of Design in Sweden.