Futuristic Ferrari – from Korea

THREE South Korean students have won Ferrari’s 2011 World Design Contest, which pitted 50 high profile universities from across the globe against one another to design a prancing horse-badged car of the future.

The students from the Hongik University in South Korea took out the top prize with their Eternita concept, beating out entrants from the Turin Istituto Europeo di Design in Italy and London’s Royal College of the Arts.

The design brief issued by the famed Italian marque asked entrants to create a thoroughbred hypercar using futuristic technology and new-generation materials.

Precious few details have been forthcoming on the proposed mechanical details of individual submissions, but each concept was required to focus on reducing fuel consumption.

Priority was to be given to reducing each car’s weight and the use of alternative propulsion systems, with particular emphasis given to hybrid powertrains. The design process for each team included the production of both 2D and 3D computer-generated models, as well as the 1:4 full-scale model which was eventually submitted to the judging panel.

The winning Eternita concept paired an Enzo-inspired nose with a wrap-around windscreen treatment that harked back to Jaguar’s F-Type concept from the turn of the millennium.

From top: Runner-up, the Xezri concept, third-placed Cavallo Bianco concept, Kia Optima, Kia Rio and Sportage.

The edgy and angular body design of the model, a brainchild of South Korean students Kim Cheong Ju, Ahn Dre and Lee Sahngseok, also incorporated concealed rear wheels, most likely to improve aerodynamics.

Runner-up was the Xezri, a solo project of Azerbaijani student Samir Sadikhov. The model appeared to be a slightly more conventional approach to the brief, with a mixture of curves and angles slightly reminiscent of Ferrari’s 458 supercar, as well as a deep and pronounced side air intakes.

The final spot on the podium was occupied by the Cavallo Bianco, a creation of Henry Cloke and Qi Haitao from the Royal College of the Arts in London.

The outlandish silver-hued design was the only one from the top three not finished in classic Ferrari red paint, and appeared to take as many cues from yacht design as from that of a car.

The wildly flared flanks of the car concealed both front and rear wheels as well as the side windows behind the bodywork, while the pointed nose resembled that of a sea-faring catamaran.

Following the prize-giving ceremony, Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo said that helping the creativity of young people was a fundamental strategy in every walk of life.

“The Ferrari World Design Contest represents a window that we want to keep open on the world and the creative energy of the next generation,” he said.

“I saw at first hand the many genuinely innovative ideas that these talented youngsters sent us and could feel the enormous passion and commitment that had gone into them.

“I am certain that some of these suggestions will come to light in the Ferraris of the future.” In other design news, Kia has taken out four awards at the German Design Council’s first annual Automotive Brand Contest, including ‘Best of Best’ in the overall brand design category.

The brand design category took into account the company’s corporate design as well as the design ‘language’ of its vehicle range.

The seven person jury – made up of journalists, marketers, designers and academics – also picked three of the Korean car-maker’s models as individual category winners.

The new Rio light car, the Sportage compact SUV and the Optima medium-sized sedan all took line-honours for exterior design.

Kia chief designer Peter Schreyer said that changing the brand’s basic design focus had given the company a distinctive ‘face’ and identity.

“The latest awards conferred on the Sportage and Optima, and the very first one to go to our latest model, the Rio, reflect the continuity of our efforts to uphold our own high design standards,” he said.

“All four awards are a fantastic acknowledgement of our strategy to position design as a core Kia brand promise.”