Design contest organised by Chris Bangle Associates is seeking for vehicles and machines for the future. Future described in “PETER TEUFUL: a Tale of Car Design in 3 Parts” by Chris Bangle set in 25year ahead. More info here.

Tractor NOVO by David Polášek – Czech Republic

The Visitor Concept Wins International Designer Competition for Prague Taxi

Michal Jelinek – Vehicle Concept Design

Mercedes Phoebis by Dániel Ruppert

Formula Student Car Body Design

The 33rd annual issue of the original Czech bimonthly magazine AutoDesign&Styling is on sale from beginning of December. AD&S is regularly in bilingual Czech-English and you can buy also digital version for your iPad. Digital version of magazine can purchased here.

cover story: AutoDesign Prague Conference 2011
premiere: Škoda Citigo
test drive: Citroën DS3 Racing 1,6 THP, Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 2,8 CRD, BMW 335i Cabrio, Ford Focus Sedan 1,6 EcoBoost, Hyundai Veloster 1,6 GDI, BMW X3 xDrive30d
wow!design: Mazda Takeri, Volkswagen Buggy Up!, Daihatsu FC Sho Case, Opel RAK e Concept, BMW 3-Series
anniversary: 100 Years of Chevrolet
interview: Fabio Filippini, Vice President Design Chief Creative Officer Pininfarina SpA
Porsche Museum
youngtimer: Mercer-Cobra
people: Erwin Komenda
fin: Tatra 603

One of the last concepts that have been awarded with Red Dot Award: design concept is strongly connected with agriculture same as the country which its designer comes from. David Polášek (1984) graduated with masters degree in industrial design on Tomáš Bata University in Czech republic. His main goals in design are: simlicity of product, smart solutions and form should strictly follow the function. These features are easily recognisable in the very last concept NOVO.

NOVO is futuristic vision of tractor in near future. Its design involves aerodynamics and nearly trend views, these two factors highlights the logic of a moving object. Whole concept includes new attitudes to ergonomics, functioning and creation of every separated part of machine. NOVO is not only the name of David Polášek concept, but also the name of design studio which he is head designer of.

For more info visit www.designovo.net

One of the main stars of the conference was Fabio Filippini, Vice President Design and Chief Creative Officer of Pininfarina SpA. Chief to the studio that designs for Ferrari and Maserati introduced the approach to designing cars in one of the oldest and most famous Italian design brands.

There was a great response to lectures from Anne Asensio, who worked at Renault and GM and currently creates software for designers at Dassault Systèmes, or Peter Horbury, Volvo’s Vice President of Design, who in an absorbing way explained what the essence of Scandinavian design is.

Speakers at the conference also included representatives from the Czech republic that work for major global companies. One of them was Michal Jelínek, a representative of Autodesk, who as a teacher of special software for car designers and a brilliant drawer showed the latest digital tools for sketching and modelling. Another successful Czech designer at the conference was Jan Dědek, Chief Transportation Designer in the Austrian studio Design Storz, who outlined the system of automotive transportation in 2050. Visitors could also see the new Czech super motorcycle FGR Midalu. Stanislav Hanuš, its author, spoke about its design.

Diego García, Spain, has become the winner of the Dassault Systèmes Design Challenge with his concept named ‘Visitor’. The participants were given the task to design a new taxi for Prague. The second place in the competition – held under the auspices of the Mayor of Prague – went to the ‘Call-e’ project from the Czech designer Josef Ludvík Böhm who decided to combine the benefits of a car and a bus. The daring futuristic concept ‘Cheers’ by Jakub Jodlowski, from Poland, using tram lines and unusual cork material, placed third.

In total, 80 designers from 23 countries joined the international competition for under-35 designers, held by Dassault Systèmes and AutoDesign&Styling. Their task was to present an environmental vision of a taxi that would become another prominent symbol of Prague. Twenty-three top projects went through to the final round where the jury, chaired by the car designer Anne Asensio, chose the winners who divided the total prize fund of EUR 1,800.

”In case of the ‛Visitor’ concept the jury acknowledged the relevant, accurate and easy-to-understand design solution, which includes exterior, interior and graphic rendering but also sense for reality and feasibility, “ explained Anne Asensio, Vice President, Dassault Systèmes. ”When assessing the entries we were looking for the best solutions also from the perspective of potential users. Consistency with the Prague environment was also very important for us.“

“The main criteria evaluated by the jury included simplicity, uniqueness, consumer modesty, aesthetic quality and connection with Prague,” says Radek Laube, the editor-in-chief of the original Czech car magazine AutoDesign&Styling. “Our ambition was to find such a design that would show how young designers from all over the world imagine Prague taxis looking in the near future.”

The victorious electric taxi project, Visitor, meets the needs of Prague visitors who do not want to miss anything during their journeys to the hotel or the airport. Large windows and a basic simple shape offer maximum space for passengers. Thanks to its generous height it is easy to get on and the perspective is great too, since passengers can stand up during the ride. The friendly design of the exterior is connected with Prague by a colour scheme, which has been inspired by the beige facades of the old Prague houses and their darker foundation walls. As far as the size is concerned, Visitor corresponds to the C segment of cars.

The design of Josef Ludvík Böhm, the runner-up in the competition, maximises the use of the interior, as it can take as many as six passengers and can be adapted for cargo transport. The passengers get on through a sliding door and there is even a ramp for a wheelchair. The large glass darkening boards reflect the city. The free parts of the car’s body can serve as a communication tool to project advertising and other messages. The wheels are covered and they are hinged on swivel axles. They are driven by electric motors powered by batteries and solar cells placed on the car roof. The project won the attention of the jury by the clean and modern design of its exterior and by its emphasis on the environment.

Prague has one of the densest tram networks and this was something that Jakub Jodlowski made use of in his Cheers project, which came in third. Whenever his taxi drives along the same route as the trams, it is powered by the tram lines. The driver is seated in a ‘tower’ which reflects the unique character of 100-spire Prague but has a practical implication too. The Skoda Fabia-long car has a unique interior dominated by cork. The combination of the cork and the dark cabin glass, evoking Czech crystal, creates an interesting contrast. The jury appreciated this complex and well thought-out solution, as well as the professional way in which it was presented.

The designer competition “Dassault Systèmes Design Challenge” was announced by the provider of 3D solutions Dassault Systèmes in partnership with AutoDesign&Styling magazine in February 2011. Besides Anne Asensio and Radek Laube, the jury was made up of the DS manager for the car industry, Miloš Korvas, the designers Stanislav Hanuš and Jan Dědek, Jiří Hulák of the National Technical Museum in Prague and Jana Vinšová of the civic association Czechdesign.cz. The seven-strong jury met in the National Technical Library on September 5.

A unique gathering of the world’s top designers will be possible to see at the first international AutoDesign Prague conference, which will take place on 20th October 2011 in the new building of the National Technical Library in Prague.

The one-day conference will introduce automotive design through leading personalities from this field. Among major international stars to appear at the conference are Fabio Filippini, Vice President Design, Chief Creative Officer of Pininfarina SpA, Peter Horbury, Vice President of Design, Volvo Cars, or one of the most influential female car designers, Anne Asensio, who worked at Renault and GM and now she holds position of Vice President Design & Brand Experience at Dassault Systemes. Conference participants will have the chance to see a presentation, for example, about how the design of supercars like Ferrari and Maserati evolves in the Pininfarina, what the essence of Scandinavian design is, what will the next generation of premium design look like, or how will cars be designed in the future.

Apart from other international designers from brands like Jaguar Land Rover or Ford, there will also be speakers who represent Czech designers. One of these is motorcycle designer Stanislav Hanuš, who heads design at the Blata, and who also designed the most powerful motorcycle on the planet, the FGR Midalu 2500. Various methods of design sketching, which has evolved into an independent art discipline, will be introduced by Michal Jelínek, Autodesk company representative.

The conference will be complete with an exhibition of paintings by Czech designer Václav Král and of the best projects from the Dassault Systemes Design Challenge – Taxi for Prague. You can find the full program and information on the AutoDesign Prague conference at the AutoDesign&Styling Magazine website.

Designer Zvezdan Nedeljkovic from Belgrade, Serbia has designed this concept of special trike which combines flying, eco electric mobility and motorcycling. We are looking forward to see further development of this idea.

All car design lovers, designers, students Cardesigncommunity.com in partnership with Scuola Politecnica di Design (Milano) launch International Sketch Fighter Contest.

The competition is based on Cardesigncommunity standard: the participants have 1 hour to perform their task. The «Sketch Fighter SPD» will have 5 rounds with a final one which will identify the winner. On September 9 all works of the final round, which will take 24 hours, will be evaluated by SPD representatives. The winner will receive 100% educational grant in one of the best schools of design – Scuola Politecnica di Design (Milano), Master’s course, 2011/12. The participants who get the 2nd and 3rd places take 50% educational grant and 30% allowance for education. More info and rules here.

The 31st annual issue of the original Czech bimonthly magazine
AutoDesign&Styling is on sale from beginning of August. AD&S is
regulary in bilingual Czech-English and you can buy also digital version for
your iPad. Sample of magazine can be seen here

from content:

• cover story: Marcello Gandini – Lamborghini Man
• wow!design: BMW 328 Hommage, Audi R18 TDI Le Mans, Mercedes-Benz SLS
• AMG Roadster, Opel Astra GTC, BMW M5
• design day: Škoda Workshop
• absolvent: Jakub Štarman
• bike: Eric Buell Story
• degree show: Umeå Institute of Design
• youngtimer: Volskwagen Golf GTI
• people: Luigi Colani

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