Donkey Kong Derby Car wins IDSA Launch Day 2013 competition

Product design consultancy Priority Design's ‘Donkey Kong Derby Car' was the winner of the IDSA Launch Day 2013 competition, earning its team a brand-new 3D printer.

The Launch Day competition, which took place at the Industrial Design Society of America conference on 24 August, asked for designs for a tiny 3D-printed car that could be launched down a miniature model of a ski jump before smashing into a crash site.

Featuring Mario and Princess from the classic Nintendo series in glorious 32-bit form, the Donkey Kong Derby Car – car being a very loose term, as it has no wheels – was, in fact, a barrel. Priority Design's story was that Mario was on a mission to save Princess, who had been locked in a cage by Donkey Kong.

As the barrel descended down the slope Mario's hammer battered the cage before Princess was finally freed as the barrel smashed at the crash site.

Judges selected the Donkey Kong Derby Car from a shortlist of 10 based on three criteria: 'Best Flight (Distance/Style)', 'Best Aesthetics' and the excellent ‘Most Spectacular Crash'.

To see all the 10 finalists' entries, visit the Inventables website. 

By Rufus Thompson