L.A. Auto Show Design Challenge

Los Angeles has turned into a creative and nurturing terrain for a culture of expressive freedom.
In the past eight years the city has been hosting the LA Auto Show Design Challenge bringing together manufacturer design studios representing automakers from all over the world.
This year’s theme – “Hollywood’s Hottest New Movie Car” invited design teams to submit concepts for both a vehicle and the film it would star in.
For the first time studios from Germany and Japan were attracted to the contest giving an international dimension to the event. The entries received were judged based on various factors including how the vehicle reflects its brand attributes relative to the movie plot; how the vehicle relates to the targeted audience or brand; the level of imagination; the character development of the vehicle; and the uniqueness of the combination of story, car and character.
The final winner of the contest was Smart 341 Parkour meeting German technology, design and innovation.
The storyline goes as follows. In a city famous for its friendly people, beautiful weather, but notoriously known for a lack of parking spaces reporter Annie Angle is set on a mission to solve a mystery of missing Grannies and potentially win her break-through front page article. The main role in this private investigation is played by her Smart 341 Parkour that enables her to take pictures from the best locations. The Smart has different modes: a drive mode, a fly mode that takes her Annie a tour above the city streets, and a climb mode which allows her to run up the walls of skyscrapers.
This year’s design contest turned out to be not only a challenge of the artists’ creativity but also an opportunity to address common industry issues and identify new opportunities.