The Michelin Challenge Design has been going on ever since 2002 when designers from around the world were challenged to design a car that would fit in with Italy. Since then, the challenge has focused on other locations like China, California, France, and Germany. Other years including the design of electric cars (2010) and Mobility for All (2016.) For 2017, however, Michelin and Automobile Club de I’Quest challenged entrants to design a car that would win Le Mans in the year 2030 and, as expected, the creativity of some of the designs is out of this world.

There was a total of 1,600 entries for this challenge, of which Michelin has showcased the top 20 that you see here. First place went to Tao Ni of Wuhu, China and his “Infiniti Le Mans 2030.” Second place went to Daniel Bacelar Pereira of Vila Real, Portugal, and his “Bentley 9 Plus Michelin Battery Slick. Third place goes to the Cierzo C1 that was submitted by Kurt Scanlan from Toronto, Canada. Of course, all of the designs were nothing short of amazing, but you can’t award first place to everyone.

Thom Roach, Vice President of OEM marketing for Michelin North America, said, “The winners of our 2017 Michelin Challenge Design presented numerous highly innovative features for the Le Mans race in the year 2030 and the quality of work from this year’s entries was truly outstanding. We congratulate the winners for their thought-provoking, visually captivating designs for the world’s greatest endurance race, Le Mans 24 Hours.”

The jury that was tasked with choosing the absolute best designs was comprised of some of the brightest minds in the automotive world and included people like, Damien Michelin of Michelin North America; Chris Chapman, Chief Designer for Hyundai America Technical Center; Dave Marek, Acura Global Creative Director for Honda R&D Americas; and Richard Plavetich, General Manager of Design Business for Nissan Design America; among others from BMW, GM, Ford, and PSA Peugeot Citroen.

Of the Top 20 designs, first, second, and third place will be invited to Michelins stand at the North American International Auto Show where they will be recognized and will participate in a private portfolio review. The first-place winner will also be recognized at the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hour Race.

Why it Matters

As you can see from the images, every single person with the top 20 designs are very talented and have a bright future ahead of them. Some of these cars may come off as looking far too futuristic for your taste, but these cars are also said to be winners of the “2030 Le Mans.” With the way cars have been evolving, it’s quite possible that race cars in 15 years could look quite similar to some of these designs. I wouldn’t expect to see any three—wheeled vehicles like that drone-like Audi R28, but outside of that, we could be looking at Le Mans cars of the future. Who knows, some of these designers could very well be the ones designing cars in the next 10 years.


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