Lada launches new design competition

Lada and Russian social network community VKontakte have announced a competition calling for amateur designers to express their visions for future Lada models.

Designs can be submitted as hand-drawn sketches or created using computer programs, and there's no limit on style, class or models. The only condition is the design has to have the brand's logo on the grille. The Russian carmaker gives last year's X-Ray concept as an example of its own future vision, but encourages entrants to get creative and design their own ideas.

The competition features two categories, ‘Tuning' – for redesigns of current Lada models – and ‘Freestyle', for sketches of completely new models. 

Entries will then be judged by VKontakte members, with the designs with the most comments and likes progressing into the second round, where they will be judged by designers from AvtoVAZ, the Lada brand's manufacturer.

The best will be featured on Lada's official VKontakte page for five days each, while their designers will be awarded prizes, which haven't been revealed.

Participants have until the end of the year to submit their designs to a specially created album before the judging, which ends on 9 January.

For more details – you may need Google Translate handy if you're rusty on your Russian – visit the contest website.

By Rufus Thompson