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April 5, Tokyo: Mitsubishi Motors Corporation used its web site to invite designers to submit entries to a design competition for a next-generation vehicle during the period 1 November 1999 through 10 March 2000. The Mitsubishi Motors' International Design Competition 2000 is the third in the history of the competition, which had its inaugural event in 1997, and has to date attracted 597 entries. Open to all, with no restrictions on nationality or professional status, this year's competition attracted a large number of designs for new products for the 21st century from designers in many countries having differing cultures and levels of motorization.
On 28 March, this year's entries were judged at the Tama Design Center, located in Tokyo, where Mitsubishi Motors carries out its advance design work. In the preliminary judging, a panel of ten TDC design staff selected some 30 entries from a total of 122 to go through to the final where three First Prizes and four Honorable Mentions were awarded. No Grand Prix was awarded this year after the panel regrettably had to decide that no entry managed to express clearly and on a radical level the new kind of value required by the "The Ultimate Next Generation Sedan" competition theme. Spotlighting the sedan -- the prime-mover in Japan's motorization -- entrants were asked to explore a new form for the sedan for the 21st century.
The award winners are given below. Full details may also be viewed on the Mitsubishi Motors web site. Mitsubishi Motors will continue to make greater use of on-line networks to reflect customer needs more extensively in its new products.
Design Competition 2000: First Prizes (3)
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MERIDIAN
Gabor Nemeth and Tamas Hartai (Hungary) |
Features
Expanding trunk slides in or out to realize either 2-box wagon or 3-box sedan |
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CAESAR
Fan Zhang (China) |
Features
Extensive foot space, and simplicity itself to operate. Proposal for stress-free comfort: |
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MITSUBISHI ARCO
Andre Melo (Brazil) |
Features
Floor and exterior shapes made as simple as possible for enhanced customizability. |
Mitsubishi Motors' International Design Competition 2000
1. Number of entries: 122
2. Entrant countries: 41 (including Korea, USA, Brazil and 16 from Japan)
3. Awards
1. First Prizes (JPY400,000 each)
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Entry:
Entrant: |
MERIDIAN
Gabor Nemeth, Tamas Hartai (Hungary) |
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Entry:
Entrant: |
CAESAR
Fan Zhang (China) |
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Entry:
Entrant: |
MITSUBISHI ARCO
Andre Melo (Brazil) |
2. Honorable mentions (JPY100,000 each)
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Entry:
Entrant: |
MITSUBISHI TWOBOX
Ermin Kosovel (Slovania) |
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Entry:
Entrant: |
"TOUCH"
STARS (Hong Wook and Park Sung Hoon; Korea) |
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Entry:
Entrant: |
TERA
Bernardo Senna (Brazil) |
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Entry:
Entrant: |
MITSUBISHI TRANIO
Uros Pavasovic (Spain) |
4. Judging criteria
The panel judged that the three First Prize winners' entries had the following in common: Keeping in mind our diversifying lifestyles as we enter the New Millennium, all the designs offer a level of comfort appropriate for a conventional sedan together with structures featuring a high degree of flexibility enabling the car to accommodate a wide range of different uses and purposes.
5. Exhibition of entries
The First Prize winning designs and many other entries will soon be on public display in the ground floor lobby of the Tama Design Center. Please see the web site below for details.
6. World Wide Web access
See the home page for details of the entries and judges comments at the following URL:
http://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.jp/DESIGN/
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