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CDN is pleased to announce the 2011 Car Design Awards China, a competition for students in China that aims to encourage the development of the next generation of domestic talent.

The Awards are open to students of any discipline who are studying full-time at a college in China. They work to briefs set by OEMs, and their entries will be judged by a panel of distinguished senior designers whose career backgrounds are both inside and outside China.

The 2011 competition briefs have been set by Chrysler (Jeep), Daimler, Guangzhou Automotive (GAC), General Motors, JAC, PSA Peugeot Citröen, SAIC and Volkswagen, whose design chiefs are all supporting the competition.

The closing date for submissions is 18 February 2011, by which time all entries must have been uploaded to the competition website.

An Award will be given to the winner in each of the eight specific categories in the competition, as well as the category winner who is judged to be the overall Student Designer of the Year.

The prize for the winners is a fully-funded placement at one of three international design schools; CCS in the US, Northumbria University in the UK or Strate College in France. The students will spend two to three weeks there, mixing with fellow students from all parts of the world and being exposed to Western design teaching.

One of the winners from 2010, Geng Li, who was recruited by joint venture carmaker Soueast Mitsubishi right after the Awards, observed during his time in Northumbria: «Students in the class seem to have better attention to detail [than in China]. They spent hours on researching and feasibility studies. In China we tended to rush through the ideas and sketches.»

«The atmosphere was relaxed but precise,» added Yanchao Wang, another of the 2010′s competition winners on the placement. «We now understand that a rigorous process is a must for good design. We used to jump to the interesting bits too soon.»

The results ceremony for the 2011 Awards will take place in Shanghai on the evening of Sunday 17 April, at the start of the 2011 Auto China show next year. It will take place at the stylish Auto Museum in Anting, in the Jiading District of Shanghai, close to the auto show.

This is the second Car Design Awards China, which is now recurring on an annual basis. The inaugural competition received wide publicity in China, including a report on the morning news show of CCTV, the country’s national television station.

As well as support from the OEMs and schools noted above, the 2011 Car Design Awards China is sponsored by Aunde, Eagle Ottowa, Icona, Faurecia, Johnson Controls, RTT and SRG Global, whose representatives will each present one of the category awards. The principal sponsor is Shanghai International Automotive City, and one of its executives will present the award to the competition’s overall Student Designer of the Year.

Entries close at 11am UK time / 12pm Central European time on Friday, 10 November. At that time, whatever you wish to stand as your final entry should be uploaded and submitted to the site. Remember, that you can archive your previous work if you think this will be useful in effectively displaying what is your final design.

While there’s just one day left, remember that you’re trying to show a process and story in your design – think: is there a clear narrative that someone reading this can understand? Will an outside observer and the judges be able to see how you started, how you explored the brief, who your target customer was and then how Opel/Vauxhall’s design language influenced your work?

Just a quick reminder: you’re tasked with designing ‘A Lounge in Motion’ and Opel/Vauxhall has asked you ‘what do you think is our lounge style?’. The company talks about its design language as being ‘Sculptural Artistry meets German Precision’, so carefully consider whether your entry fits within the context of this brief.

The judging panel will meet next week in Russelsheim to pick the top three entries, which will then be selected to go on and digitally model their work – in association with one of the competition’s other sponsors, Dassault Systemes – next year. The winner of the entire competition will be announced at the 2011 Geneva motor show and receive the ultimate prize: a paid internship at Opel/Vauxhall’s design studio in Russelsheim, Germany.

Remember, judges are looking for an interior. The exterior phase of the competition starts in the new year. Good luck, and watch this space for updates.

Carrosse
Stephane Krumenacker
Krumenacker’s personal interest in (built) environmental philosophy dictated his approach to this project, which started with a scenario rather than a product. The Carrosse takes into consideration not only an aesthetic, but also an infrastructure for ‘last mile’ vehicles. The locally-built ‘pods’ are designed to be as simple, efficient and economical as possible. Only when the package was developed were any aesthetic considerations made.

XSCAPE
Shengjie Wang
As cities continue to grow into sprawling megacities, so the desire to escape grows. Wang’s Xscape project is designed to offer a sense of escapism even within the confines of the city, with lightweight efficiency central to its philosophy. Its tandem seating position not only increases the feeling of connection with the vehicle, but also has obvious width advantages when negotiating city streets. Its party-piece is its flexible bodywork, which can expand to add an extra seat. This is most evident in the neat, expandable concertina rear light cluster.

Bentley Prometheus
Zhaozhi Sun
«To share power is the new luxury», muses Sun, whose Bentley interior concept features conductive power technology to share its power to charge other electric cars around it, the idea of a ‘sharing’ ‘exclusive’ car somewhat of an oxymoron. The interior design continues to mix opposites, being formed of both open (in the front) and closed (rear) spaces, which are formed of vast, cocooning surfaces. The rear compartment can be used to either hold business meetings or spend time with the family, while the driver has his own compartment and separate entrance.

Lotus Exceed 1.01
Xin Zhang
Drawing inspiration from the computer industry, with individually designed, optimized components, Zhang’s project explores the customization opportunities facilitated by the industry’s use of second-tier suppliers. Designed for a scenario where customers are able to pick between a variety of components to attach to their cabin, which acts as a motherboard. The result is an aesthetic that ties in with Lotus’ lightweight roots thanks to its modularity.

eVe
Ringlarei ‘Ringo’ Pamei
The introduction of new technologies brings with it new possibilities for designers to explore and so, with this in mind, Pamei set about creating a uniquely ‘EV’ aesthetic for his project. The main aim is to communicate lightness, efficiency and flexibility. The extensive use of glazing, layered cowling in place of traditional bodywork and a visible central chassis speak of a vehicle pared back to its bones. The tires incorporate the suspension system, while extra electric motors can be fitted inside the wheels, giving a visual identifier to the amount of power on offer.

Legendary GM designer Charles M. «Chuck» Jordan died at his home in California on Thursday, December 9th. He was 83.

Largely known for creating eye-catching Motorama concept cars during his time at GM’s advanced design studio, Jordan climbed through the ranks at the automotive giant until he was elected to become the fourth man ever to hold the title of Vice President of Design, following in the footsteps of Harley Earl, Bill Mitchell and Irv Rybicki. Jordan led GM’s Design operations as Vice President from 1986 through to his retirement in 1992.

«Chuck Jordan was the person who hired me as an intern in 1971 while he was working for Bill Mitchell, and I will always be appreciative of the opportunity he gave me to join GM’s Design Organization,» current Vice President of Global Design, Ed Welburn, said in a statement. «Chuck was always involved in the hiring of talented, young designers, and he took great interest in their growth and development.»

Jordan joined GM as a junior engineer after earning a degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but his flair for style and his uncompromising commitment to aesthetic excellence saw him appointed to the role of Chief Designer of the company’s special projects team when he was just 26 years old. While there, he designed GM’s lightweight passenger train concept, the Aerotrain.

Jordan soon stepped into the advanced design team, a position which saw him create the 1955 Cameo show truck as well as the 1956 Buick Centurion and the XP-700 ‘Phantom’ Corvette concepts. He was also instrumental in creating the production 1958 Corvette. By that year, Jordan had already been working as Chief Designer for Cadillac for a year; the role would see him further Harley Earl’s well-documented big-fin cars initiative. By 1962, Jordan became executive in charge of automotive design and was responsible for all GM car and truck exteriors.

Over the course of his design career, Jordan also worked as director for Adam Opel AG in Rüsselsheim, Germany, where he was responsible for a number of well-regarded designs, including the Manta coupe and the 1968 production model GT sports car. Upon his return to the US, Jordan was appointed executive in charge of automotive exterior design for GM’s upscale car segment – the Buick Oldsmobile Cadillac group – and in 1972, he assumed a similar position for Chevrolet, Pontiac and commercial vehicles.

Jordan was named Director of Design for the entire design staff in 1977 and in 1986, he succeeded Irv Rybicki as Vice President of Design. The Oldsmobile Aurora, Buick Reatta, 1990s generation of Camaros and Firebirds, and the 1992 Cadillac STS were created under Jordan’s direction, as were the Ultralite, Sting Ray III and the Oldsmobile Aerotech concepts.

«He was a strong creative force at GM Design, and a passionate leader,» Welburn said. «It always felt as if every new project he was leading represented a new mountain to climb, and was a fresh opportunity to create new trends and statements in automotive design. He had the charisma and passion of few others in the industry.»

The designer left the Italian firm last spring. A relative of Wolfgang Porsche, Reitz graduated from Art Center Europe in Switzerland and began his career at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg in 1993. Reitz joined Audi in Ingolstadt from 1996 to 1998, where he was in charge of Advance Design. In 1999 he joined Nissan and worked in various roles, including studio chief designer and member of the Global Nissan Design Strategy. During his tenure he worked on the 2001 CrossBow, 2002 Micra C+C, 2003 Evalia and 2004 Nissan Qashqai concept cars. He later joined the Fiat Group and became the head of the Turin based carmaker’s Styling Center in January 2005. He was appointed to the Design Director position at Alfa Romeo in 2007.

To date, Riversimple has unveiled a prototype technology demonstrator, developed under the guidance of freelance designer, Jonathan Holt. The firm’s vehicles form part of an overall system — with users accessing cars when they need them — and are designed to minimize overall lifetime environmental impact. Crucially, the firm is publishing its design and engineering blueprints online, with the aim that the wider community will develop and improve the vehicle’s overall design. The firm’s backers include members of the Piëch family. Reitz’s first job will be to design the hydrogen powered, carbon-fiber bodies cars, which are due to appear first in the UK city of Leicester, in 2012.

We are hoping to speak with Christopher about his new role very soon.

According to well-placed sources within the automotive design community, Car Design News has learned that Manfred Fitzgerald, Brand and Design Director at Lamborghini, has been asked to leave the company. It is presumed his role with the company’s design aspects will likely be absorbed by current Audi Group Head of Design Wolfgang Egger.

Fitzgerald had been working at Lamborghini since 1999, shortly after the sports car maker was bought by parent company Volkswagen through Audi AG. Initially hired as marketing manager of the Sant’Agata Bolognese-based company, a role in which he spearheaded the initiative that defined the brand’s values, Fitzgerald was subsequently appointed Brand and Design Director, even though he had no formal training in design.

Lamborghini’s Centro Stile in Sant’Agata Four door Estoque concept is reportedly expected to go into production Lamborghini AntiMarca e-commerce website launched earlier this year

Fitzgerald’s appointment came in 2006, following Luc Donckerwolke’s move to head design at SEAT. But Lamborghini was also under the stewardship of Walter de’Silva – credited with the Miura concept while Chief Designer in 2006 – and later Wolfgang Egger, who took over as Audi Group Head of Design in 2007 when de’Silva was promoted to head Volkswagen Group design.

Following Donckerwolke, de’Silva and, most recently, Egger’s lead, Fitzgerald set out to create a clear corporate identity and design for the vehicles. During his tenure he has overseen the creation of the limited-edition Reventon, the Estoque four-door and the recently-revealed Sesto Elemento concepts, though variants of the Gallardo (Spyder) and Murcielago (LP640) were also developed under his watch.

Under Fitzgerald’s direction Lamborghini also launched Ad Personam, an individualization program that offers buyers the highest level of individuality and exclusivity through a range of options available for both the interior and exterior. Clients can also specify their own colors and materials, as long as it is approved by the company.

«It would be a mistake to reduce the brand to what we have done, there is such a vast potential of creativity here,» Fitzgerald said in an interview earlier this year. «A luxury brand is allowed to play in other fields.»

Much like rival Italian super sports car maker Ferrari, merchandising has played a huge part in the development of the brand, as have product placements in big Hollywood films. Though most offers were discarded because they were not a good fit for Lamborghini, the films Fitzgerald chose to partner with showed the cars owned by the ‘good guy’ (The Dark Knight) and used in a luxurious setting (Mission Impossible 3).

«There is still potential to bring our products to the market where we can grow the brand without diluting the brand image and without losing our exclusivity,» Fitzgerald said. «We have a clear strategy for the future, we will stick to that and we will weather the current climate. It’s about not doing something erratic that will not be understood.»

It is not yet known what Fitzgerald’s next career step will be. He was unavailable for comment. But one question does beg to be answered: With the recent unveiling of the lightweight but ill-received Sesto Elemento, could he indeed have predicted his own demise?

It was only a matter of time before we expected a talented designer to fill the position vacated by Anders Warming when he was promoted to the role of Design Director at Mini. News of that new appointment was revealed today and, as of March 2011, Karim Habib will become the new Head of Exteriors at BMW Design.

No stranger to BMW Design, Habib comes back to the Munich-based carmaker after a two year absence, during which time he worked for rival German carmaker Mercedes-Benz. While at Mercedes, the Lebanese/Canadian designer held the position of Senior Manager in charge of Advanced Design at the company’s Stuttgart studio in Germany, a role he was appointed to in 2009.

«I’m really delighted about coming back to the BMW brand and being given the opportunity to help shape the future of BMW as part of an outstanding team,» Habib said of his new appointment.

Having already spent the first 10 years of his career working for the BMW Group, during which time he was responsible for the current BMW 7 Series range and the BMW Concept CS, Habib is clearly ready to tackle new challenges head-on.

«Karim Habib is an excellent designer who has already made a major contribution to the BMW design with the current BMW 7 Series. I look forward to resuming our collaboration,» said Director of BMW Group Design, Adrian van Hooydonk.