Prospective car designers are now able to enter Magna’s 2020 Bold Perspective Award. The winner will receive $10,000 and a paid trip to the LA Auto Show.
To enter, students must design a four-to-six passenger vehicle that uses innovative exterior body panels, openings and materials to enable new mobility customers to succeed without assistance in doing everyday tasks. Larry Erickson, global director of exteriors design group at Magna Exteriors and one of the award judges, describes the challenge in more detail.
“We focused this year’s competition on a subject we believe could be life changing. The subject is the interaction between individual users and their vehicle’s exterior. It’s not just about how exteriors look but also how they function to provide access for occupants and cargo and how they communicate and assist operators who have tasks that today require assistance from others. We’re looking for innovations that also maintain and enhance peoples’ emotional connection with their vehicle.”
2019 marked the debut of the competition. Zehao “West” Zhang, a graduate of ArtCenter College of Design and now an interior designer for Geely Design, won the award last year with his autonomous Honda concept for urban nomads. “It is essential for student designers to enter the competition,” he says. “As students, we don’t have many chances to show ourselves like this. But Magna has given us an opportunity to build connections within the industry. I gained a lot of confidence by winning the award, and I believe it can influence my future career.”
Each regional finalist will also win a cash prize of $5,000. The application is simple and takes just minutes to complete.
“As we enter a new era of electrification, artificial intelligence and new ownership models, we can address even more mobility challenges; especially those that require help from someone other than the driver,” Erickson adds. “Tomorrow’s vehicles have potential to be so much more than simply a vessel. We‘re looking for solutions that take full advantage of new technologies, materials, changing behaviours, and ultimately ways to solve new and old challenges.”
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