Design Contest: AutoStyle 2011

The newly renovated Polirone Abbey in San Benedetto Po, Italy, will again play host to the Autostyle design competition on October 6th and 7th. Now in its eighth edition, the event is more than just a design contest; it is also a workshop on the state of the auto industry.

Devised by Roberto Artioli, managing director of Berman SpA, an OEM parts and genuine accessories designer and supplier, and Fulvio Cinti, Director of Auto & Design magazine, the event will honor the winners of this year's competition and present a total of five awards to 12 finalists, which have been selected out of 80 applicants from different design schools. The entrants were asked to create special versions of the Alfa Romeo 4C, Audi Quattro, Ford Vertrek, Peugeot HR1 or the Toyota Yaris HSD concepts.

The winners will be determined by an evaluation committee made up of design directors from Audi, Bentley, Fiat, Ferrari, Ford, Maserati, Nissan, Toyota, and the Università degli Studi di Firenze, with the audience able to also cast their vote at the event. The proposals submitted will be judged based on their coherence with the brand, their originality and innovation, the comprehensiveness and elegance of the work and the feasibility of the projects.

But before the awards are presented, the two-day event will open with workshops on how new models are created in the design centers today. Starting with a round table discussion with Design Directors including Wolfgang Egger (Audi), Peter Fassbender (Fiat Brazil), Flavio Manzoni (Ferrari), Claudio Messale (Ford), Filippo Perini (Lamborghini), Roberto Piatti (Torino Design), Marco Tencone (Alfa Romeo and Lancia) and Martin Uhlarik (Nissan), the workshops will also include presentations from Elvio D'Aprile and Ryoji Okazaki of Toyota's ED2; Roberto Giolito of Fiat Group Automobiles; and Robin Page of Bentley.

The workshops set the stage for members of the automotive industry to evaluate and better understand the processes of research and experimentation in the creation and evolution of car models. It will give designers, vehicle technicians and design aficionados an opportunity see model advancement from four different perspectives. The venue will also feature exhibitions of challenging ideas and projects from design academies and selected companies, while the intimate setting in front of the historic abbey will also feature production and concept cars exhibited in the Matilde di Canossa Square, with vehicles from Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Ferrari, Infiniti, Jaguar, Lamborghini Lancia, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes, Nissan, Suzuki and Toyota.

For more information and to attend the event contact Berman at: autostyle@berman.it

Related Article:
AutoStyle design competition 2010

By Eric Gallina