The Autostyle Design Competition has been taking place on the outskirts of Mantua, Italy, for over a decade. Bringing together designers and engineers in a familial setting, the event comprises a series of workshops and as well as a car show over the course of two days. It is hosted by Berman, an automotive supplier and accessories maker for leading OEMs.
As in years past, the 10th anniversary of Autostyle showcased the work of young designers competing for prizes in four categories: Urban Cars, Sports Cars, a Creativity Award — presented by Auto&Design magazine — and the Audience Prize presented by Berman CEO Roberto Artioli on behalf of the event’s attendees.
Nearly 100 entries were whittled down to a selection of 12 finalists, with entrants representing eight different nationalities as well as eight European design schools. Overall, 24 special versions for the Citroën Revolte, Suzuki SX4, Audi Crosslane, Land Rover Defender DC100 and Maserati Ghibli were created.
Three Italian and two French design students received the top awards at yesterday’s prize-giving ceremony: Stefano Airoldi from Italy’s High Institute of Automobile Science in Modena (ISSAM) won Best Proposal in the Urban Cars/SUV category for his special version of the Suzuki SX4; Kévin Bouvier from Strate College in Paris, France, was awarded Best Proposal in the Sports Cars category for his adaptation of the Land Rover Defender DC100 concept; and Jennifer Andriamamonjy from Creapole received the Audience Award for her ‘virtual version’ of Sumo wrestlers projected onto a Fiat 500L.
Auto&Design‘s Creativity Award was bestowed upon Mario Giuseppe Antonioli of the Politecnico di Milano for his Land Rover Defender DC100 design and RCA student Francesco Binaggia also won a Creativity Award for his Suzuki SX4 creation.
The students were awarded by the Evaluation Committee members who assessed their proposals. The panel is composed of Marta Cinti (who was representing her uncle Fulvio Cinti, president of Auto&Design magazine); Alfa Romeo exterior chief designer Alessandro Maccolini; Klemens Rossnagel Head of Audi’s Concept Design Munich studio; Ferrari design director Flavio Manzoni; Claudio Messale, chief exterior designer at Ford, Roberto Giolito, head of design at Fiat; Anna Costamagna, design manager at Peugeot; Massimo Grandi of the Università degli Studi di Firenze; and Robin Page, interior design director at Volvo.
All of the winning students were presented with an award and a trophy depicting an arena created by Eric Dubois.
